What to be more afraid of the coronavirus or the flu? According to the data at the disposal of the National Institute of Public He alth, the death rate from COVID-19 is much higher than it is in the case of seasonal flu. What exactly do these statistics look like?

When on March 11, 2022, the World He alth Organization (WHO) announced that Europe and the whole world are struggling with the coronavirus pandemic, and the increase in new infections is growing rapidly in countries such as China, the USA and Italy, a day later in Poland an epidemic threat has been announced.

Due to the fact that the pandemic occurred at the same time as the period of increased flu incidence in our country, people began to wonder which virus is more dangerous. Will the number of deaths from the coronavirus exceed those from the flu, or will it be the other way around?

How many people died from the coronavirus at the start of the pandemic?

According to the data of the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate, which was compiled on the basis of information collected by the WHO as well as the European and American Centers for Disease Prevention and Control - ECDC and CDC, at the beginning of the pandemic, the death rate due to coronavirus was 3.7% .

It was an average taken on the basis of the collected data from all countries where the coronavirus appeared. These indicators varied depending on the country concerned. For example, in Italy it was 6 percent. But everywhere they were higher than with the seasonal flu. This, according to WHO data, was less than 1%.

And so in the first half of March 2022, when the pandemic only just reached some countries, including to Poland, almost 135 thousand were recorded worldwide. infections and 5,000 deaths. Most, because more than 3 thousand. took place in China. Italy came second (15,000 infections and over 1,000 deaths), followed by Iran (350 deaths) and North Korea (60 deaths).

How many people died from the flu in the 2022/2020 season?

This is the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in the world. And how was it with the flu, the season of which usually lasts from September to March in our country? The epidemiological data collected by the NIPH-PIH showed that from September 1, 2022 to March 7, 2022 there was over 3 million flu or flu-like infection.Poles. Only in February 2022 there were 821,653 cases of the disease, and in January half a million. The number of people who were hospitalized at the beginning of this year due to influenza was 2,792 in January 2022 and 5,596 in February.

After a few months of the pandemic, when the restrictions to limit the risk of the pandemic spreading were largely lifted and we returned to a fairly normal life, there were many opinions and comments that compared the coronavirus to flu or seasonal colds.

How many people died from the flu in 2022 and how many from COVID-19? Influenza mortality rate and COVID-19

How do the latest statistics look like today in the face of the increase in coronavirus infections in Poland?How many people died in 2022 from influenza and how many from COVID-19? Although some of the symptoms of these two viruses are very similar to each other, and some people suffer from the coronavirus asymptomatically or slightly, the death rates unfortunately clearly say that the new, yet unknown virus does not equal flu or a cold. Interestingly, this year the mortality rate from influenza or pneumonia has clearly decreased and is the lowest in the last five years.

The death rate for the flu is 0.002 and for the coronavirus - 3.4%. These data already show that the difference is very big. What is the reason for this? The answer is simple: a pandemic. Greater attention to hygiene and maintaining social distance protect not only against the coronavirus, but also the flu. The latter, however, is apparently gentler on the human body.

According to the detailed data provided by the Ministry of He alth since the beginning of the pandemic, 2,867 people have already died due to the coronavirus in Poland. As for the flu, only 62 deaths have been reported this year.Statistically, the number of coronavirus victims is 4,624.2 percent higher than those of influenza.It also means that the number of flu deaths this year is lower than the number of daily deaths from the coronavirus. An example is the statistics from October 14, when the Ministry of He alth informed about 116 people who died due to COVID-19 or October 15 - 91 people.

Flu and Coronavirus Mortality - Latest Figures

And what has the situation been like in terms of the flu incidence in recent months? Reports of the National Institute of Public He alth - PZH say that from 1 to 7 September there were 25 thousand. 239 cases and suspected cases of influenza, and from 8 to 15 September - 52 thousand. 500. A total of 77 thousand. 739 suspicions and illnesses. There were no deaths from the flu during this time.

Forcomparisons at the same time, i.e. from September 1 to 7, the data of the Ministry of He alth indicated 550, 595, 612, 691, 567, 437 and 302 cases of coronavirus infection, which gives a total of 3,754 cases. 85 people infected with the coronavirus died in the first week. In turn, from September 8 to 15, the Ministry of He alth data indicated 400, 421, 506, 594, 603, 502, 377 and 605 coronavirus infections, which in total gives 4008 cases. In the second week of September, 103 infected people died. This means that from September 1 to 15, laboratory tests confirmed 7762 cases of the coronavirus and 188 deaths from it.

279 people died from the coronavirus in October, October 1-7. No deaths from influenza have been reported. Hospitals issued 101 hospital referrals for patients with or suspected flu. The last fatality was a 65-year-old patient from the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, who died in May. For comparison, 153 people died from influenza in 2022.

Experts continue to emphasize that flu vaccinations are important, especially during this year's disease season, which coincides with the coronavirus pandemic.

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