COVID-19 vs. The Flu: How Deadly and Contagious is it?

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Many people are comparing COVID-19 to the seasonal flu. So, here is a handy quick comparison guide for the similarities and difference between various respiratory viral infections, including Flu, COVID-19, SARS, and MERS.

Comparison of Respiratory Viral Infections – Flu, SARS, MERS, COVID-19. *Community Attack Rate = The number of new cases divided by the population of the community.

Prof. Akiko Iwasaki, from Yale University’s School of Medicine created these infographics, with help from the BioRender team. On the 18th of March Prof. Iwasaki went on Twitter to explain why social distancing and herd immunity are very important, while we ceaselessly work towards developing vaccines to treat COVID-19.

Principles of Herd Immunity and Social Distancing

With #COVID19 with its lethality rate, the only safe way to achieve herd immunity is through vaccination. That is why it is so important to develop effective vaccines. Trying to achieve herd immunity through natural infection will put millions of lives in danger.
Prof. Akiko Iwasaki, from Yale University’s School of Medicine