THREAD: The #nCoV2019 #CoronavirusOutbreak is a signal-to-noise problem. Signal = #coronavirus. Noise = cough/cold/#influenza/#flu/#pneumonia. How do you pick up the signal when there's so much noise?
Reduce the noise! Get your #flushot #influenza vaccination. If you're over 65 (or have other reasons to be high-risk), get your #pneumonia shot. It'll make it easier to detect #nCoV2019 #coronavirus and control #CoronavirusOutbreak.
We have a lot of room for improvement re: vaccinating against the #flu #influenza in this country. Only ~63% of kids & ~45% of adults got vaccinated in the U.S. last year. cdc.gov/flu/fluvaxview… #nCoV2019 #coronavirus #CoronavirusOutbreak 
As for the #pneumonia vaccination? Over 1/3 of adults 65+ years and older (the key target population) have not gotten it. #nCoV2019 #coronavirus #CoronavirusOutbreak
And among adults under 65 who have other medical indications for getting the #pneumonia vaccination? 3/4 haven't gotten it. cdc.gov/vaccines/imz-m… #nCoV2019 #coronavirus #CoronavirusOutbreak
Since October, 10-25 thousand Americans have died from the #influenza (we'll have more accurate numbers after the season is over). And ~50 thousand Americans die from #pneumonia each year, some complications of the #flu. #nCoV2019 #coronavirus #CoronavirusOutbreak
Deaths from #CoronavirusOutbreak in the U.S. to date? ZERO. #Immunization against #influenza #flu and #pneumonia would save lives AND reduce the noise (i.e. diseases causing cough/cold/fever), which would make it easier to pick up the signal (#nCoV2019 #coronavirus cases).
And it's not just the U.S. that needs to do a better job. China's #vaccination rates vs #influenza & #pneumonia are very low (<5%) b/c people have to pay for them out of pocket. They're not part of their National Immunization Program. #nCoV2019 #coronavirus #CoronavirusOutbreak
European countries aren't doing so well on #influenza #vaccination either. (The U.S. is about even with Germany on this graph). sciencedirect.com/science/articl… #nCoV2019 #coronavirus #CoronavirusOutbreak
