I've heard a lot from some folks (both online and by phone) that concern about #covid19 is overblown because the vast majority of folks who get it recover after feeling crappy for a few days. While this is true for many/most, it misses the big picture. 1/x
First, as Dr. Fauci and others have said, #covid19 is deadlier than the flu. Far deadlier. It's deadlier for young adults. Its deadlier for older adults. 10 times deadlier. This chart from @businessinsider shows this. businessinsider.com/coronavirus-co… 
The curve is stark. If 1/12 people age 70-79 who get the virus and 1/7 people age 80+ who get the virus die, and the virus spreads to 20%, 40% or 70% of the population, we're talking massive death tolls, the likes of which we have never seen before in our lifetimes. 3/x
More than that, our hospital systems have fewer beds than other developed countries, per OECD. We don't have anywhere for sick patients to go. We will quickly run out of capacity. healthsystemtracker.org/indicator/qual… 4/x
But it's more than that. Even if our hospital systems had the beds, they lack the supplies like respirators. As @NatGeo reported earlier this month, the U.S. has only a fraction of the medical supplies it needs to combat coronavirus. nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/0… 5/x
And if that weren't enough, there's another problem. Hospitals have been slow to recognize the threat and health care workers have faced exposure and are now quarantining themselves, further reducing available staff, as @KHNews reported. khn.org/news/surging-h… 6/x
I'm also really quite nervous about rural areas. Rural areas in the U.S. are losing their hospitals entirely. Gone. Disappearing. Residents having to travel hours for care. What's going to happen to them? @elisaslow expertly described this last year. washingtonpost.com/news/national/… 7/x
Let me add one more thing to the picture: Many health care workers have their own children. And as schools begin to close, they have to figure out how to care for their own families. Their sacrifices are real. They deserve our real thanks. 8/x
Look, I realize this is scary. It is. But we MUST stop saying this is like the flu. As Dr. Fauci said, "The flu has a mortality of 0.1 percent. This has a mortality rate of 10 times that. That’s the reason I want to emphasize we have to stay ahead of the game in preventing this.”
Last point for now. Not one health journalist or public health expert I trust--not one--has said we're overdoing it. EVERY SINGLE ONE has said we're not doing enough, that this is far more serious than it is being taken. Listen to them. -end
