[D66] Coronavirus kills at more than 20 times the rate of seasonal flu

[A.OUT]

wsws.org:

Coronavirus kills at more than 20 times the rate of seasonal flu
By Bryan Dyne
5 March 2020

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Tuesday that the 
mortality rate for reported cases of COVID-19 has risen to 3.4 percent, 
based on the ratio of the current number of deaths caused by the virus 
to the confirmed infections. At the time of the announcement, those 
figures stood at 3,254 and 95,184, respectively.

The coronavirus fatality rate is more than 20 times the death rate of 
the seasonal flu, according to data from the US Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC)—a stark measure of the dangers the novel 
coronavirus poses to the world’s population.

This number is an increase over early estimates of the mortality rate by 
the WHO at just above 2 percent. It reflects the spread of the 
coronavirus to 83 countries and territories outside of China. The 
fatality ratio has stayed relatively constant since February 25, even as 
new cases and new deaths have been confirmed. It is unclear whether the 
current mortality rate will hold or change in the coming days.

One of the many causes of the spread of COVID-19 is the fact that 
workers are unable to take sick days, even when exhibiting symptoms of 
the infection. Chipotle workers in New York City yesterday held a 
protest against the fast food chain demanding that the company stop 
forcing workers to work while sick, especially in light of the spread of 
the coronavirus in the state. They exposed retaliation by the company 
against workers who stayed home to recover and prevent the spread of the 
disease in spite of orders by management.

Questions are also being raised as to whether a vaccine will reduce the 
impact of the disease, especially if it is not distributed freely. Asked 
at a congressional hearing last week to guarantee that once a vaccine 
against the virus is developed it will be available to all, US Health 
and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, a former pharmaceutical 
executive, refused. “We would want to ensure that we worked to make it 
affordable,” he said, “but we can’t control that price because we need 
the private sector to invest. Price controls won’t get us there.”

As the spread of the coronavirus continues, the WHO is very concerned 
that the medical supplies necessary to combat the disease could run out. 
A statement issued by the organization on March 3 warned that “supplies 
are rapidly depleting.” It said the medical industry had to increase 
manufacturing by 40 percent if the demands placed upon the world’s 
health care infrastructure by the pandemic were to be met.

In raw numbers, the world needs 89 million medical masks, 76 million 
examination gloves, 30 million gowns, 1.6 million goggles and 2.9 
million liters of hand sanitizer each month until the pandemic is 
contained. The WHO has also called for “the rational and appropriate use 
of personal protective equipment in healthcare settings, and the 
effective management of supply chains,” after prices for gowns doubled, 
respirators tripled and surgical masks increased six-fold.

This shortage is especially dangerous in regions with a higher fatality 
ratio or where coronavirus cases have been surging. While the number of 
new cases in China dropped to 119 yesterday, South Korea, Italy and Iran 
reported 435, 587 and 586 new cases, respectively. Those countries also 
reported 3, 28 and 15 new deaths, raising concerns that COVID-19, given 
its two week incubation period, has already infected large swaths of 
those countries.

There are also worries that the virus is much more widespread than 
currently reported in the United States. To date, 11 out of the 154 
known cases have resulted in the patient’s death. Assuming that the 
average mortality rate of 3.4 percent holds true, the 11 confirmed 
deaths predict that there are actually 324 cases of the coronavirus in 
the country, and that 170 of them have gone unreported.

While there are many reasons that an infection of COVID-19 might be 
missed, the most prominent is the enormous cost for Americans to visit a 
doctor. Costs for those who have been tested for the coronavirus have 
reportedly been as high as $3,200.

Moreover, the response by federal, state and local governments to the 
crisis has been improvised and disorganized at best. The CDC has been 
unable to provide testing kits on a mass scale for hospitals around the 
country. Thus far, only 472 tests for COVID-19 have been carried out in 
the US, as compared to 23,345 in Italy, 109,591 in South Korea and tens 
of millions in China. The CDC insists that hospitals and laboratories in 
the US use its testing procedure and equipment, rather than those of the 
World Health Organization. This has essentially crippled the ability of 
medical professionals in the US to detect the coronavirus and protect 
their patients and themselves.

Typical of commentaries on US social media, Twitter user Matt Stoller 
wrote: “Just spoke with ER doc who say[s] he’s seeing cases he’s 99 
percent sure are #coronavirus. Negative for flu, recent travel, work in 
airports. Not allowed to test. Patients return to work because they 
can’t take time off w/out a firm diagnosis. Other ER docs seeing the 
same thing.”

In addition to spreading, there is now evidence that it has developed 
into different types. A study published Tuesday in the National Science 
Review found genetic markers indicating that a subset of the virus in 
Wuhan evolved from a less aggressive S-cov to a more transmittable and 
deadly L-cov, but that the spread of L-cov was largely curbed by the 
quarantine of Hubei province.

This is little comfort. Mutations that happen once can happen again. 
Given the spread of the coronavirus around the world, a version that is 
more aggressive and lethal has the potential to kill hundreds of 
thousands and infect tens of millions.

The world’s resources must be mobilized at once against this pandemic to 
contain the disease, treat the sick and save lives.