Official statistics now show that Covid-19 has killed more Americans than the 1918-19 Spanish flu pandemic, roughly 675,000 people.
Despite the fact that the US population was a third of what it currently is, the figures nevertheless show the huge impact Covid-19 has had. We must also take into account that no harsh lockdown was in place during the Spanish flu pandemic and that medical knowledge was far lower than it is today.
It is hoped that as vaccines cover more and more of the population, and as natural immunity builds up, that Covid-19 may be waning in its danger and may evolve into a mild cold. There are of course no guarantees, and in a worst case scenario, new variants that evade vaccines could cause even more deaths in the future.
Many Americans have refused to receive the vaccine as a result of conspiracy theories and mistrust in authorities, often stoked by the former president Donald Trump who was in office when the outbreak began.
Speaking of the vaccines and earlier opportunities to clamp down on the virus Dr. Howard Markel of the University of Michigan, said:
"Big pockets of American society — and, worse, their leaders — have thrown this away."
It is thought that as winter comes and more people spend more time socialising indoors, the virus could have another wave. The University of Washington has modelled that another 100,000 Americans could die before the end of the year.
Worldwide the official death toll from Covid-19 is around 4.6 million but estimates from The Economist magazine suggest that as many as 15 million people could have died with their deaths being registered as other causes – often in poor and underdeveloped countries with little vaccine coverage, little medical infrastructure, and few testing capabilities.
When asked if the Covid-19 pandemic could be worse than the Spanish flu outbreak in the long run, Ann Marie Kimball, formerly of the University of Washington, said:
"You'd like to say no. We have a lot more infection control, a lot more ability to support people who are sick. We have modern medicine. But we have a lot more people and a lot more mobility. ... The fear is eventually a new strain gets around a particular vaccine target. The trouble is, you have to survive infection to acquire the immunity."
[h/t: Associated Press]
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