RE:RE:RE:More contagious BA.2 sub-variant spreading in Canadajust some stats,
so far an estimated 6 million people worldwide have died from Covid19. Likely many more go unreported. Its not the flu as some think.
Globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the common flu kills 290,000 to 650,000 people per year. The 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic was the most severe pandemic in recent history. It was caused by an H1N1 virus with genes of avian origin. Although there is not universal consensus regarding where the virus originated, it spread worldwide during 1918-1919. In the United States, it was first identified in military personnel in spring 1918. It is estimated that about 500 million people or one-third of the world’s population became infected with this virus. The number of deaths was estimated to be at least 50 million worldwide with about 675,000 occurring in the United States. The USA now has close to 1m deaths from Covid19 more than the Spanish H1N1 virus.
After that pandemic was over, the H1N1 virus became one of the strains that now causes seasonal flu. Although the H1N1 virus itself does still show up once in a while.
Covid19 may eventually go on to be a stain of common flu but its not there yet from what I have read. Even though the Spanish Flu was called at the time an influenza technically it was the H1N1 virus. Medical knowledge at the time was not advanced enough to tell exactly what it was. This time we are at least able to distingish the difference. Covid19 is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Everyone wants the pandemic to be over but you can't legislate an end to a virus it will continue to do what a virus does until its done. Maybe it will be soon thats up to the virus and how well the vaccines work with the variants. I'm no expert but I usually try to error on the side of caution.