Is the American mainstream media narrative correct? That the Wuhan coronavirus isn’t anywhere as bad as the seasonal flu?

The virus is proving to be far more contagious than the flu, having  spread from 300 people in mid-January to more than 75,700 as of Thursday  morning. 

-CDC

That’s the American mainstream narrative; that the Wuhan coronavirus isn’t serious. It isn’t as bad as the flu, and the flu kills thousands of people each and every year. So that there is nothing to be worried about.

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I strongly disagree. However, you shouldn’t take my word for it. You just need to watch some movies of what is going on in China today, and come to your own conclusions. Right?

Look, see, watch.

Think for yourself. Come to your own conclusions.

Please kindly note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your browser.

Video 1 – Almost too late.

You are not feeling well. So you finally decide to go to the hospital. You’ve been putting it off. It’s just a sore throat you thought. But, now you are feeling dizzy and getting tunnel vision. You should have went earlier. You know that now.

You look at your cell phone but the sweating in your hands make scrolling and pushing the buttons really difficult. So you ask your friend to help. They help you and get you in the car.

Just like the flu, right? Only the flu is much worse, right? The American media has all this pegged. Do not worry. The flu is far worse.

Here’s from USA Today…

 So far, there have been an estimated 19 million cases of flu,  180,000 hospitalizations and 10,000 deaths in the U.S. this influenza  season – including 68 children, according to the Centers for Disease  Control and Prevention.

Worldwide, seasonal  influenza epidemics cause 3 million to 5 million severe cases every year  and kill up to 650,000 people a year, according to the World Health  Organization.

"That just far surpasses the  amount of cases compared to the novel coronavirus," Colburn said. "If  you didn’t travel specifically to Wuhan, China, or have contact with a  person with suspected or known coronavirus, your chance of contracting  this is extremely low." 

-USA Today

Now, this advise and write-up seems rather silly when you look at it. If you were in China, and were to read this, you would shake your head in pure disbelief. Because what this news “report” is saying DOES NOT AGREE with what you are witnessing.

This is what the Chinese people are starting to notice…

Video 2 – Registering people at a clinic.

So you are sitting there at the table talking with people, helping them with the paperwork and interviewing them… then you don’t feel so hot. Just like the Flu, right? You’ve seen policemen and doctors collapsing in front of you with the flu, right?

Well… actually no. You don’t see them collapsing. Nor do you ever see American police inside American emergency tent-clinics registering sick people, either. But somehow, yes somehow, the flu is worse.

You know the WHO data on the seasonal flu includes deaths from impoverished areas, where people live in primitive homes and huts, do not have adequate sanitation and medical care. And we are all supposed to believe that that data is representative of a modern, civilized and state-of-the-art nation.

It’s illusionary, and deceptive. As this propaganda from USA Today proves…

 There’s a deadly virus spreading from state to  state. It preys on the most vulnerable, striking the sick and the old  without mercy. In just the past few months, it has claimed the lives of at least 39 children.

The virus is influenza, and it poses a far greater threat to Americans than the coronavirus from China that has made headlines around the world.

“When  we think about the relative danger of this new coronavirus and  influenza, there’s just no comparison,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a  professor of preventive medicine and health policy at Vanderbilt  University Medical Center. “Coronavirus will be a blip on the horizon in  comparison. The risk is trivial.” 

-USA Today

Have you EVER seen ANY American policeman collapse from the flu in the line of duty?

Video 3 – Another casualty at the hospital.

Don’t wait until the last moment. If you are not feeling well, rush to the hospital. You see this kind of stuff all the time with the flu, right? It’s common knowledge, right? Every flu is like this, Right?

While it is true that people with the flu try to get better at home, and serious cases are sent off to the hospital, no one ever collapses at the front door or in the car-port. But this is what is happening with this virus.

This kind of thing amazes me.

How can anyone see scenes like this, and still have the audacity to claim that the flu is worse? That it’s all just hype?

 Influenza rarely gets this sort of attention, even  though it kills more Americans each year than any other virus, said Dr.  Peter Hotez, a professor of pediatrics, molecular virology and  microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Influenza  has already sickened at least 13 million Americans this winter,  hospitalizing 120,000 and killing 6,600, according to the CDC. And flu  season hasn’t even peaked. In a bad year, the flu kills up to 61,000 Americans.

Worldwide, the flu causes up to 5 million cases of severe illness worldwide and kills up to 650,000 people every year, according to the World Health Organization.

And yet, Americans aren’t particularly concerned. 

 -USA Today 

People, this is what is called propaganda.

Now, propaganda only works when the audience is kept ignorant of the true state of affairs. If you control all the news, in all the various forms, you can control the actions of the people.

This is why the American propaganda controls three branches of news;

• Mainstream news
• Alt-left news.
• Alt-right news.

And make no mistake, the Alt-Right news is just as manipulated as the mainstream media news is. What’s the Alt-Right news saying?

“This is a biological weapon. Stolen by China. Used on their own people for eugenics purposes.”

Yes. Absolute nonsense.

OK. Let’s go back to the mainstream news propaganda;

“This is a natural virus. Harmless, but with a scary name.”

Video 4 – Policeman getting sick at his station.

The problem with this virus is that it is stealthy and fast acting. You can get it, and then it sits inside your body making you super contagious, and you will feel just fine and wonderful. Then, it will hit you suddenly. You know…like the flu! NOT!

Sick people in China are handing over their phones to the police and medical teams. They use the GPS tracking information to compare who they might be in contact with. They are quickly discovering chance encounters with infected people, and that the virus “jumps” from the infected (but feeling normal) person in a matter of seconds.

Like this…

 Infected in 15 seconds while he bought vegetables at the market.
 GIC Team GICexpat 6FEB20

 A 56-year-old man in Ningbo was recently confirmed as a newly found case to have contracted the novel coronavirus after visiting a food market in the city’s Jiang Bei district on January 23. The confirmation was released to the public on February 4 by the district’s official social media account.

 What’s especially surprising about this case is how fast the man contracted the virus.

 Video surveillance revealed that it only took 15 seconds for him to be fully exposed, as neither he nor the 61-year-old woman standing next to him while picking out vegetables at the same stall were wearing protective masks.

 The woman is believed to have had contracted the virus a few days prior while attending a blessing ceremony.

 The man and woman, now both affected by the 2019-nCoV, did not know each other before crossing paths at the Shuang Dongfang market.

 Unfortunately, 19 people who subsequently came into close contact with the newly-infected 56-year-old patient have already shown positive signs of infection. All of them have been put under isolated medical observation for further examination. 

Meanwhile, the mainstream American news is still on the “don’t worry, be happy” narrative.

 Fewer than half of adults  got a flu shot last season, according to the CDC. Even among children,  who can be especially vulnerable to respiratory illnesses, only 62%  received the vaccine.

 If Americans aren’t afraid of the flu, perhaps that’s because they  are inured to yearly warnings. For them, the flu is old news. Yet  viruses named after foreign places — such as Ebola, Zika and Wuhan —  inspire terror. 

-KHN

And the Alt-Right conservative news is also parroting this more or less. They argue that this is all nonsense. That it isn’t all that contagious. Here’s from the Moon of Alabama blog…

... We had documented in an earlier post that neither the infectiousness nor the mortality of the novel Cornoavirus are especially severe. This New York Times graphic also explains that. 

The ONLY reason that the virus is being contained is because the entire fucking nation went DEFCON ONE.

This is not the flu…

Video 5 – Woman is not feeling well.

So you go outside to run an errand, then suddenly you don’t feel right. You feel dizzy. So you stand there puzzled, and then you pass out. Just like everyone does every flu season. Right?

That’s the American mainstream media narrative…

 Some doctors joke that the flu needs to be rebranded.

 “We should rename influenza; call it XZ-47 virus, or something  scarier,” said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center  at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

 Measles in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed 5,000 people in the past year — more than twice as many as Ebola. Yet UNICEF officials  have noted that the measles, which many Americans no longer fear, has  gotten little attention. Nearly all the measles victims were children  under 5. 

 -KHN 

Personally, I think that Selco said it best…

I know now that bad things can happen, and one more important thing, actually I believe it is most  important:  

I no longer believe government and authority, not at all.   

When they really doing their best to assure you that everything going   to be fine, you can be sure that something bad is happening. 

Video 6 – Truck driver passes out at the wheel.

My take on things is that this Wuhan corona virus has a potential to become Apocalyptic. I don't like what I am seeing now.
 
Posted by: blues | Feb  5 2020 16:36 utc  

Every flu season you always hear about truck drivers unable to drive because of the flu, right? They just pull over and die at the side of the highway, right? It’s an every year occurrence. Right?

 Some people may worry less about the flu because there’s a vaccine, whose protection has ranged from 19% to 60%  in recent years. Simply having the choice about whether or not to  receive a flu shot can give people an illusion of control, Schaffner  said.
 
But people often feel powerless to fight novel viruses. The fact that an airplane passenger spread SARS to other passengers and flight crew made people feel especially vulnerable. 

  -KHN  

The “Virus Hunter”, world renowned Columbia University Professor, Walter Ian Lipkin came to  China and met with Zhong NanShan, China’s lead epidemiologist in fight against #CoronaVirus.   

A few points are of significance:  

1. Lipkin said he spoke for hours with Zhong, and exchanged different views. But ultimately he trusts Zhong, because Zhong is a humanitarian.  

2. The infection ratio of the CoronaVirus is probably Underestimated. The fatality ratio is probably Overestimated.  

3. I repeat, America’s top scientist already came to China. Lipkin also fought alongside Zhong and China during SARS in 2003.  

These perspectives are very important! Please remember!  

Most sobering of all, 35-year-old Chinese doctor Li Wenliang, the CoronaVirus whistleblower who was charged with spreading rumors of virus last month, died of CoronaVirus himself hours earlier.  

Video 7 – Doctors pass out.

Ignoring the reported 2019-nCoV  #s for China (which are suspect) but taking into account reported #s only for countries outside  China (and assumed to be reasonably accurate), the calculated death  rate (1/212) as of this morning is (rounded up) .5%.  Hardly  Apocalyptic.
 
Posted by: Trisha | Feb  5 2020 17:02 utc 

And another thing about the flu is how it completely shuts down hospitals, and causes the doctors and nursing staff to pass out and stop working. Right? After all, the flu is far worse. Right?

 Hotez, who is working to develop vaccines against neglected diseases,  said he worries about unvaccinated children. Most kids who die from the  flu haven’t been immunized against it, he said. And many were previously healthy.

 “If you’re worried about your health, get your flu vaccination,” Hotez said. “It’s not too late.” 

   -KHN   

Video 8 – Police take you away.

This morning on Canadian TV: Worldwide infected 24,0000, death toll in China 450, let's say 500
 
Here https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00154-w
 
I found:
 
4 February 11:00 GMT — Cases in China pass 20,000, so 25,000 seems reasonable.
  
Then from CNN, 17 min ago (they are hardly conservative  with numbers):
 
What we're covering here
 
The virus: The coronavirus outbreak has killed 492 people worldwide, the  majority of which are in China, and infected more than 24,500 people  across 25 countries over 30 days.
 
Some math:
 
fatality percent:  500/24500*100 = 2.04 % => really high mortality rate, almost as much as common flu.
 
Population infected in China: 20000/16 billion =  0.002 % which proves that this is a horrible horrible unstoppable virus
 
In other countries a bit less, per this site https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/01/countries-confirmed-cases-coronavirus-200125070959786.html
 
Australia 14, Germany 12, India 3, Malaysia 12, Singapore 28, South  Korea 19, USA 11, Vietnam 10, Canada 4, Russia 2, UK 2, in total over 25  countries. 
 
Percent countries where at least 1 case discovered: 25/195 = 13%,  => really world wide spread. 

Of course, since the flu is so deadly, the police will come to your house if you have the flu. They will break down the door, and they will haul you away to the hospital for your own good. Right? That’s what always happens with the flu. Right?

Video 9 – Military biological decontamination units.

I'm not so sure that the Coronavirus is so innocuous as some would  have us think, simply because of the way China has reacted to it.  Why  quarantine tens of millions if it is no big deal?   Do you trust China  to provide accurate statistics if they are seeing a huge fatality rate  with a highly infections organism?
 
Zerohedge  has posted an article showing that there was a "mistaken" post showing  much more serious numbers, which indicated a 16% fatality rate.  With a  high R0 value and an airborne pathogen, that reportedly has shown  transmission via fomites (spreads through touching of contaminated  surfaces), this would be approach the lethality of the organism  portrayed in the movie "Contagion". 
 
Posted by: Perimetr | Feb  5 2020 17:32 utc | 15 

Of course, every flu season has the local national guard, and military forces performing vehicle sweeps and decontamination procedures using truck mounted machines and chemicals. They scrub the air and make sure that everyone is safe. It’s normal, every flu season, right?

Video 10 – Containment centers.

The one thing that would scare China the most, I think, is if the  virus was infectious before symptoms appear. A virus able to spread  wholly undetected can be a nasty piece of work, specially one that's  seemingly a new addition to our species' ills, because we don't have any  innate immunity around for the time being - if things go badly, a big  chunk of the total population can get infected.
 
 Posted by: Clueless Joe | Feb  5 2020 17:44 utc | 19 

And, of course, the yearly flu containment centers are always active. Right? After all, since the flu is so much worse, and far more dangerous, there is nothing to worry about. Right?

The virus is contagious at least 5 days before symptoms appear, I  have read some reports that say 9-14 days before symptoms appear. Which  is why it is out of control. Taking temperatures to screen is like  pissing in the wind
 
Posted by: Per   | Feb  5 2020 17:48 utc | 22 

On the Alt-Right is the narrative that China is lying, and that hundreds of dead are piling up. Well, I’m not seeing that. Not first hand, not second hand. It’s all nonsense.

And people (!) nonsense = propaganda.

This situation is serious. No doubt. The Chinese are treating it as a DEFCON ONE event, and that shows how serious it is. However, it is contained and things are adjusting.

Here is a comment on MoA that speaks some sanity…

Now crematorium nonsense is back, only being applied to China. The  only people who buy this ridiculous story are ones who haven't ventured  into the sunlight from their parents' basement in years, and have for  certain never further from their trailer park than the local Walmart.  How else is it that anyone can imagine that the big problem with  covering up a large number of deaths is just the problem of disposing of  the bodies? What about family, friends, and coworkers of the deceased?  How about creditors? Who thinks they will just shrug and forget about it  if the person who owes them money disappears?
 
The only people who can seriously consider the narrative of cremating  bodies to hide deaths are ones who cannot conceptualize people on the  other side of the planet who speak a weird language as actual human  beings with full lives. Delusional Americans for whom the world is just  another TV show, and Chinese people are just extras in that show with no  backstory or future whom nobody would notice if they died unless their  body blocked the sidewalk or something.
 
If you, dear reader, are leaning towards believing the crematorium  narrative, ask yourself if simply disposing of the body would work at  erasing anyone you know, like one of your parents or children? Kinda  silly to think that would make you forget them, huh? 

So why imagine it  would work in Russia or China? 

Answer: The only way you could believe that is if your understanding of those places was just a shallow caricature; a cartoon.
 
Posted by: William Gruff | Feb  5 2020 21:19 utc | 65 

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