Coronavirus is much deadlier than the flu, whichever data you use

A funeral in Illinois
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Researchers are still learning a lot about the COVID-19 coronavirus: what it does to the body, what other animals it infects — dogs, for example — how to treat the disease, and, of course, how contagious and lethal the new virus is for humans. Antibody tests, designed to determine how many people have been infected with the coronavirus, suggest the coronavirus is less fatal for the average individual, and far more contagious, than originally believed.

Some people, largely conservative opinion journalists, cite the serology data to argue the coronavirus outbreak is no more deadly than the seasonal flu and the U.S. has overreacted. Infectious disease experts come to the opposite conclusion. "I think it is the worst pandemic since 1918," Cecile Viboud, an epidemiologist at the National Institutes of Health's Fogarty International Center, tells The Washington Post.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.