The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues its exponential spread throughout the world with many countries in Western Europe, reporting thousands of cases every day. The death count continues to increase. John McAfee, however, doesn’t seem to take the virus seriously and even went so far to compare it to diarrhea.
It goes without saying that the novel coronavirus is one of the most severe challenges that the world has to face right now. With almost 9,000 deaths throughout the entire world, more than 213,000 people are currently infected. According to the World Health Organization, the mortality rate of the virus as of March 3rd was 3.4%, which is definitely something that shouldn’t be underestimated.
Comparably, the seasonal flu generally kills “far fewer” than 1% of those infected, per the WHO. Still, a lot of people are making a comparison, dismissing the seriousness of the problem and claiming that something is cooking behind the curtains.
John McAfee, for once, has been very vocal on the matter, and he has so far refused to take the virus seriously. What is more, he even compared it to diarrhea, claiming that 1.5 million people died from it within the same time frame as the coronavirus.
And if someone says:
“Tell that to the 20,000 people who have died,:
I will vomit.
Why not tell something to the 600,000 people who have died from the flu in the same period.
Or the 1.5 million who have died from diarrhea in the same period.
Wake up people!!!
— John McAfee (@officialmcafee) March 18, 2020
It’s true that diarrhea isn’t something to be taken lightly and that a lot of people suffer from it and that a lot of people have died from it.
Yet, according to the CDC, “most diarrhea deaths are preventable using simple, low-cost interventions. With this said, about 88% of diarrhea-associated deaths are “attributable to unsafe water, inadequate sanitation, and insufficient hygiene.” It’s most commonly caused by the so-called rotavirus, for which there is a vaccine. There’s no vaccine for the coronavirus, and its mortality rate of more than 3.4% is definitely something to be concerned with.
This is perhaps one of the biggest debates, with many people claiming that there’s no need to worry as the seasonal flu takes a lot more casualties.
However, a recent report from the New York Times outlines that the seasonal kills about 0.1% of those infected. Back in 1918, the flu had an unusually high fatality of about 2%, causing “tens of millions of people” to lose their lives.
It’s true that the mortality rate of the coronavirus could be lower because not all infected have been reported. However, with a current rate of more than 3%, it’s definitely something that shouldn’t be taken lightly. What is more, research has it that the coronavirus is much more contagious than the seasonal flu.
Just for comparison, the current season, according to the CDC, saw at least 34 million cases of the seasonal flu in the US alone. 350,000 people have been hospitalized, and 20,000 people lost their life. With the current mortality rate of the coronavirus, this number would have been at least five times larger. And, on top of everything else, there is a vaccine for the flu – there isn’t one for the coronavirus.