The simple answer is the mortality rate. The 2009 swine flu killed ~18,000 Americans. From the CDC website: From April 12, 2009 to April 10, 2010, CDC estimated there were 60.8 million cases (range: 43.3-89.3 million), 274,304 hospitalizations (range: 195,086-402,719), and 12,469 deaths (range: 8868-18,306) in the United States due to the (H1N1)pdm09 virus.
If this current pandemic goes unchecked without severe mitigation, it could kill a million Americans because it's so much more deadly. Make sense?
If this current pandemic goes unchecked without severe mitigation, it could kill a million Americans because it's so much more deadly. Make sense?
