Lakhasly

2020 has brought a new type of concern to humanity and made people focus on their vulnerabilities, health risks, and financial state, worries and anxiety, as well as the fear of sudden death. In addition, quarantine measures such as social distancing created an additional level of stress and risks for everyone's mental health state. When the COVID-19 epidemic began in China, the only thing people knew is that it is an infectious and highly communicable deadly disease [1, 2]. It took time until scholars studied the new type of coronavirus thoroughly and started addressing common concerns, including differences with previous pandemics like the 2003 SARS [2]. Today, most countries have reached the point when the majority have already been sick or saw someone from their close circle get sick. Yet, even with this degree of knowledge and awareness, some people continue to believe that COVID-19 is an ordinary flu-type epidemic requiring maximum natural immunization coverage. Those who are inclined to believe in the flu scenario focus on their discomfort from social constraints and discomfort they face and avoid thinking of the health-related risks, most probably because of the emotional load of being involved in the opposite position. Yet, there are several reasons why we should not be as optimistic as those who prefer considering COVID-19 being just another type of flu, as I will explain in the paragraphs below with some considerable evidence.

The first reason we shouldn't be so optimistic, that it is much more serious than flu. It is true that Influenza kills between 12,000 and 60,000 Americans annually and puts some 140,000 to 810,000 people hospitalized [4]. However, COVID-19 is an unprecedented epidemic that poses a higher health risk than it is generally recognized by the public and warns to take it seriously. In March 2020, its mortality rates were as high as 1-6% [5]. Based on official statistics, coronavirus has killed more people in America in 2020 alone than all influenza types together during the last five years [6].In contrast to flu, these people had no chance because there is no natural immunity to SARS-CoV-2. While COVID-19 and Influenza spread similarly as respiratory diseases [9, p. 8-9], the degree of coronavirus infection is greater many times due to a more significant transmission potential [7]. With the higher risk of severe side effects as thrombosis and pneumonia, this makes COVID-19 a much more dangerous disease than any flu. "Weakness, shortness of breath, trouble focusing and, in some cases, kidney and heart problems are much more common after COVID-19 than after influenza," scholars explain [6]. The pessimistic group realizes why their opponents are underestimating the risks. Indeed, two viruses symptoms are challenging to differentiate, and the tests are not always accurate. Besides, the COVID-19 pandemic and a concurrent seasonal influenza epidemic double the mortality risks [8]. Coronavirus-sick people without symptoms make others feel relaxed and decrease their anxiety. The "chains of transmission" are difficult to monitor, and the statistics of perceived 'worst cases' are very subjective due to limited circles of communication. There is a need for greater government control to intensify public health interventions.

Secondly, while more is learned every day about COVID-19 and the virus that causes it, there is still a lot that is unknown. On the other hand, Influenza has been around for a long time, so experts and scholars know a lot about it, including the best way to cure people who have the disease. As Chang told Healthline, "We have more experience with the complications of flu — such as cardiac problems and bacterial pneumonias that happen after you get the flu — but with COVID-19, every treatment is essentially a trial run" [3]. Yet COVID-19 might look similar to flu. That relates to continuous virus mutation and instability, and seasonality makes COVID-19 look very similar to Influenza. The virus structure and history add reliability to the arguments. Like any other respiratory flu, coronavirus is difficult to eradicate. It is entirely survivable and mostly puts under risk people aged 65+[4]. In most cases, it causes just common cold symptoms, and more severe infections, including pneumonia, are produced only in rare cases and specific patient groups. At that, no social distancing or mask-wearing was ever introduced before for neither general cases of flu nor famous ones like SARS, swine flu, A/H1N1 flu, and bird flu (avian flu). Influenza is never addressed in a way that causes shuttering the economy.