'Perverse logic​': Don't compare the flu to COVID-19

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'Perverse logic​': Don't compare the flu to COVID-19
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Statements that the seasonal flu is worse than COVID-19 are not only false, but are 'designed to sow confusion and disrupt public health responses,' said one epidemiologist.

Among the myriad of misguided messages online, some widely shared posts claim that the virus has a lower death rate than the seasonal flu, even though influenza immunization is widely available and there’s no vaccine for COVID-19 yet.The claim is neither clear nor true, according to experts who cite intervention measures, differences in death tallying and basic logic as reasons why comparing COVID-19 to seasonal influenza is senseless.

Despite an overwhelming body of evidence to disprove such social media statements, the mistruths persist, perhaps because of something called, a Russian word for “disinformation,” said David Fisman, an epidemiologist at the University of Toronto. Influenza is raised routinely in conversations about COVID-19, particularly among online groups that also spread misinformation about vaccinations. One post in particular has gained traction online in recent weeks, quoting someone named Bryan Matti as saying: “The COVID-19 death rate without a vaccine is lower than the flu death rate with a vaccine.

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