Canadian scientists have compared deaths from COVID-19 and influenza. The corresponding study was published in the journal CMAJ, RIA Novosti reports.
Doctors examined data on hospital admissions related to influenza and COVID-19 between November 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020 at seven major hospitals in Toronto and Mississauga. These areas have a large population and a high rate of coronavirus infection.
It turned out that patients with coronavirus were admitted to the intensive care unit one and a half times more often and remained in medical facilities one and a half times longer than those hospitalized with the flu. Moreover, the mortality rate among COVID-19 patients was 3.5 times higher.
According to the authors of the study, such differences are associated with low levels of immunity to coronavirus compared to seasonal flu, but they will disappear as herd immunity to COVID-19 appears.
Earlier, immunologist Irina Yartseva compared the features of the course of COVID-19 and influenza. According to her, with the flu, the temperature is high, up to 39 degrees, it lasts for six days. With COVID-19, it can last up to 10-12 days, and this is considered a mild form. Yartseva added that with a coronavirus infection, severe intoxication and a temperature reaction may be greater than with flu. In addition, COVID-19 usually does not affect the throat, unlike the flu.