I skimmed a pile of posts, and skipped several pages. So apologies if some of this has already been covered.
1) Comparing COVID to Flu.
Yes, the flu kills on the order of about 12,000 people in the US per year. Currently, COVID deaths are at approximately 4 times that amount. Bear in mind that flu deaths are spread over a fairly long season, starting in early September and running through March or April (depending on part of the country and the temperatures). That's roughly a 9-month period, although it certain peaks between November and February. COVID, on the other hand, has resulted in over 40,000 deaths in about a month and a half. That's a considerable difference in mortality rate. There is no question that COVID has a higher case fatality rate than influenza does.
Flu has a relatively short incubation and transmission period. Most people are contagious immediately before they begin exhibiting symptoms, and during the first several days of illness. COVID, however, seems to be contagious for about a week prior to the infected individual showing any symptoms, and in some cases it's contagious for a couple of weeks in people who are asymptomatic. That makes it much easier for flu to be contained through normal behavior, and makes COVID much harder to avoid.
Influenza viruses, in general, last only a very short time outside of the human body. They deactivate pretty quickly on almost all surfaces. COVID-19 seems to be pretty robust, and seemingly can survive for many hours on almost any surface. This means it's a lot easier to pick up COVID even if you're not around someone sick, just from contact with everyday objects that someone has previously handled.
Flu symptoms generally last about a week, longer on rare occasions. Hospitalizations from flu are quite rare, and are frequently for people who are already at risk. Once hospitalized, a flu patient only stays in the hospital for a few days, at which point they've either recovered or have died. COVID symptoms last several weeks in many cases, and have a roughly 20% hospitalization rate for symptomatic patients. A hospitalized COVID patient has about a 33% chance of ending up in ICU. Hospitalized COVID cases are in the hospital for two to three weeks... and about half of ICU cases die.
Flu tends to be worst in older people and in very young children. Those are the ages most likely to be hospitalized and to die. COVID has had very little effect on children (who are largely asymptomatic and almost never die), but hospitalization is similar at all adult ages. Older people are significantly more likely to die from COVID than other ages.
Influenza mutates quickly, but generally, once a person has been exposed to a specific influenza strain, they develop long-lasting immunity to that strain. Coronavirus mutates slowly... but exposure to many coronaviruses does not confer lasting immunity. Coronovirus, along with rhinovirus make up the largest bulk of seasonal colds, and the lack of long-term immunity after exposure is part of why there's no vaccine for them.
So... to recap: COVID has already killed about 4 times as many people in less than two months than Influenza usually kills in an entire year. It is more contagious, and materially harder to avoid getting than the flu. There's a significantly higher likelihood of being hospitalized with COVID, and both the illness and the hospitalizations last significantly longer than with flu. To top it off, we have treatments for influenza that are highly effective, including seasonal vaccines. We have no vaccines or treatments for COVID-19. There's a reasonable likelihood that exposure to COVID-19 will not result in long-term immunity.
There is absolutely no question that COVID-19 is significantly and materially more dangerous than influenza.
