Seasonal flu vs. COVID-19

The Lancet

A study in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine details the high morbidity and mortality burden with COVID-19 relative to seasonal influenza. Researchers studied nearly 46,000 patients who were hospitalized with influenza during the 2018–2019 flu season and 90,000 hospitalized with COVID-19 from March through April. The in-hospital mortality rate was three times higher with COVID-19 (17% vs. 6% with flu). Among adolescents, in-hospital mortality was 10 times higher with COVID-19 (1.1% vs. 0.1%). COVID-19 patients were more likely than flu patients to develop acute respiratory failure, pulmonary embolism, septic shock, or hemorrhagic stroke; they were less likely to experience myocardial infarction or atrial fibrillation.

The Lancet Respiratory Medicine article on flu vs. COVID-19 (Free abstract)