COVID-19 death rate could be nowhere near as high as once thought (Opinion)

One of the scariest things about the novel coronavirus that has swept the planet was the purported "death rate." That's the number of people who would die from contracting it. Was it higher than the seasonal flu, which kills between 20,000 and 65,000 each year? Last year that number was around 34,000 and the year before it was 61,000.

So far, COVID-19 deaths have not yet reached 30,000, but they might real soon, and each loss of life is tragic. Several medical professors from Stanford University are conducting studies that are shedding light on the death rate from COVID-19 being comparable to seasonal flu. If you watch this clip, one of the professors seems to have a clear idea of just what the death rate could end up being.

One of his colleagues, no doubt working on the same project, had similar views. Both seem to conclude that the panic driven by media could be worse that the outbreak itself — something some dumb radio hosts, yours truly, have been suspecting for some time. We've been saying for weeks that the cure, shutting down the world, might be far worse than the disease. Time will tell when we look back on these past few weeks, and God only knows when that will be. Hopefully soon!

More from New Jersey 101.5:

​