It is getting annoying that people keeps comparing different numbers to make their points. If you are using 0.2% mortality rate in a healthy population, you have to compare it with the flu mortality's rate in a healthy population, which is still a magnitude lower. It's disgraceful, to be honest, to compare mortality rates on different population at all.
And I'm just gonna quote your link directly to make my point, I'm fairly upset at people calling it a bad flu at this point.
"While this correction does not change the assessment that COVID-19 exhibits severe pandemic potential in the absence of effective interventions, the shift in framing brought about by this three-fold revision from ‘possibly comparable to the 1957 flu but not 1918’ to ‘possibly comparable to 1918’ may meaningfully impact risk perception."
Its CFR is 3.4% according to WHO (actual number may be be higher than this because it is an early statistic and does not take into account patients that are still struggling and may eventually die).
So, in your opinion, the news coverage is totally justified and the lack of coverage for every other subject is okay? There's already 'effective interventions' being discussed openly from n95 masks to quarantines and travel restrictions.
Getting irritated at me for pointing out that the average person is not at severe risk of death, contrary to what the media is currently saying, seems a bit of an over-reaction.
That's not much consolation if someone close to you dies. I'm frustrated with the lack of empathy on display in discussions about this virus. People see 2% and then blow it off because "it probably won't happen to me". Those numbers represent real people with loved ones that will be 100% dead.
"While this correction does not change the assessment that COVID-19 exhibits severe pandemic potential in the absence of effective interventions, the shift in framing brought about by this three-fold revision from ‘possibly comparable to the 1957 flu but not 1918’ to ‘possibly comparable to 1918’ may meaningfully impact risk perception."