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Ask HN: Why is everyone I talk to in the real world so unperturbed by Covid-19?

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Re: Ask HN: Why is everyone I talk to in the real world so unperturbed by Covid-19?

#41
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not really. Some people like to stock up on bottled water and toilet paper so they can play zombie apocalypse, but taking appropriate safety measures to prevent it from spreading is a sufficient response.

The run on toilet paper is what I don’t understand. I heard about it happening around the country on the radio. A guy being interviewed said something like, “toilet paper is like gold during the apocalypse.” What?! Then a relative called me this evening to tell me about people wheeling tp out of Costco by the pallet. I was at a different store an hour ago to and the entire bath tissue isle was empty. This is in Denve…

In my part of the US, nobody's stocking up on toilet paper. In fact, nobody appears to be panic-buying anything at all except for isopropyl alcohol, which I discovered when I needed to get some for a project. There isn't a bottle of IPA of any strength to be found.

Re: Ask HN: Why is everyone I talk to in the real world so unperturbed by Covid-19?

#42
post #11

I looked at reported mortality rates and infection rates. Looks just like the regular flu so far. Do you have some data that indicates otherwise?

Low end estimates for mortality rate of covid-19 are ten times higher than regular flu. So either: You didn’t actually look Or you looked and came to the conclusion that an order of magnitude higher mortality rate was not significant. So what number would make you think this is worse?

When I looked at mortality rates I saw 0.6% in S. Korea where they do large scale testing.

Re: Ask HN: Why is everyone I talk to in the real world so unperturbed by Covid-19?

#44
post #29
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But the data so far indicates it’s no more contagious than a common flu (R0: 2-4). Are all of these 10% hospitalized were hospitalized because they are in a serious condition or because of the panic? The fact that the panic puts a stress on the healthcare system does not mean the panic is justified. I’m ok with the panic if the data says this is serious. So, again, do we have such data?

The mortality rate is around 1% which is more than 10 times than flu. The hospitalization rate is 15% and the ICU rate is much bigger than flu. If you run out of ICU room, more people will die.

We don't actually know the mortality rate. Or rather we don't know it defined in the way people care about ("what is the likelihood that I might die"). The closest data seems to be South Korea where they're doing mass testing, but even then, are they really doing scientifically valid random testing or are people still self selecting?

I've sort of swung back and forth on my concern levels about this, so I guess I understand the OP's concern but also the lack of concern in the people he talks to. I think it's a mix of things:

1. People learn about this via the media but a lot of people (more than half) deeply distrust the media. They think journalists lie all the time. Trust in media polls have been in decline for a long time, so when reporters turn up with "omg panic" type stories, people don't take it seriously anymore.

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/trust-in-media-down.php

2. People have been receiving very mixed messages. It's a killer plague but it's also kinda like having a bad cold. The death rate is way higher than normal but it's 0.5% in the only country doing mass testing, which doesn't sound high. It's incredibly dangerous but it's also harmless to children and healthy adults. Thousands are dying but most of them were about to die of old age anyway. It's going to crash the economy but that's because the government is shutting everything down, not because people are actually unable to work. It's so infectious a single touch can give it to you, but it also requires standing around someone infected for 20 minutes to get it. It will infect the entire world but China's cases have already peaked. Etc etc.

It's pretty hard for people to know what to make of all this. I'm not saying the information people are getting is wrong, but it sounds contradictory and confusing.

3. If you believe it's really so infectious then there isn't much you can do. Nobody can self-isolate forever, and many can't self-isolate at all.

Re: Ask HN: Why is everyone I talk to in the real world so unperturbed by Covid-19?

#45
post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Low end estimates for mortality rate of covid-19 are ten times higher than regular flu. So either: You didn’t actually look Or you looked and came to the conclusion that an order of magnitude higher mortality rate was not significant. So what number would make you think this is worse?

When I looked at mortality rates I saw 0.6% in S. Korea where they do large scale testing.

That's a lot higher than regular flu though.

The real issue with these numbers isn't whether it's larger or a lot larger than regular flu but to what extent any of these numbers are meaningful at all. The same virus supposedly causes death rates of between 0.5% and 5%, an order of magnitude difference. Seems more likely that nobody really knows.

Re: Ask HN: Why is everyone I talk to in the real world so unperturbed by Covid-19?

#46
post #45
post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I looked at mortality rates I saw 0.6% in S. Korea where they do large scale testing.

That's a lot higher than regular flu though. The real issue with these numbers isn't whether it's larger or a lot larger than regular flu but to what extent any of these numbers are meaningful at all. The same virus supposedly causes death rates of between 0.5% and 5%, an order of magnitude difference. Seems more likely that nobody really knows.

Also, we don't know how many people have been infected. I'm guessing for the flu we have better estimates, as it has been tracked for decades. Besides, "flu" has been a diagnosis commonly used by doctors whenever the symptoms fit. I was told I had a flu by a doctor more than once without any blood tests. So we might have another order of magnitude correction once more data is available.

Yes, it's better be safe than sorry, I get that. However we probably shouldn't use mortality rates as the main reason to panic (or not panic). I shouldn't have done that in my previous comments.

Re: Ask HN: Why is everyone I talk to in the real world so unperturbed by Covid-19?

#48
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not really. Some people like to stock up on bottled water and toilet paper so they can play zombie apocalypse, but taking appropriate safety measures to prevent it from spreading is a sufficient response.

Some people like to stock up on bottled water and toilet paper so they can play zombie apocalypse, And some people on the internet like to feel strong by putting down others for taking reasonable precautions against the prospect of forced quarantines or neighborhood lockdowns.

Calm down, guy. No one’s getting quarantined without water.
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