C
Chris Smith
Guest
- Researchers from the University of Washington have compared patients hospitalized with severe coronavirus infections to severe flu patients.
- The scientists concluded that COVID-19 patients are twice as likely to die in the hospital than those with flu, further underscoring the dangers of the novel coronavirus compared to influenza.
- Flu vaccines are advised to reduce the risk of dual infection, with researchers recommending face masks and social distancing to limit the spread of COVID-19.
The novel coronavirus was compared to the flu and common colds from the early days of COVID-19. At the time, the new illness's clinical presentation seemed to perfectly match the symptoms of the flu and the common cold. Some people died of COVID-19, but plenty of people die from influenza infections as well. As we learned more details about SARS-CoV-2, however, it became increasingly clear that the novel virus is nothing like the flu or a cold. The pathogen is more infectious and can lead to severe complications with lasting effects. Some people suffer from “long COVID” for several months after the initial infection is cleared. Several studies also showed that the death rate is much higher than the flu, which is another reason why the novel coronavirus isn’t like the flu.
Finally, there are plenty of over-the-counter drugs to treat the flu, and there are also vaccines that help prevent infections. For COVID-19, at-home therapy is limited and vaccines will not be widely available for quite a while. The drugs that have some efficacy in COVID-19 — remdesivir, dexamethasone, blood thinners, plasma transfusions, monoclonal antibodies — can only be administered in a hospital, and some of them are only given when severe complications are present. Treating the flu in hospitals is far easier and more successful, and now a new study shows exactly that: Hospitalized COVID-19 patients are twice as likely to die as people hospitalized with the flu.
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Think coronavirus is no worse than the flu? You need to read this originally appeared on BGR.com on Sat, 14 Nov 2020 at 11:44:43 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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