Fox News’ Jeanine Pirro downplays talk about the coronavirus being more deadly than the flu: That's only because there's a flu vaccine
Pirro: “Imagine if we did not have the flu vaccine, the flu would be a pandemic. So all the talk about coronavirus being so much more deadly doesn't reflect reality.”
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From the March 7, 2020, edition of Fox News’ Justice with Judge Jeanine
JEANINE PIRRO (HOST): So, what to do? It's a virus, like the flu. It actually can be mistaken for the flu -- a sore throat, a cough, a fever. And by the way, it is flu season.
You say, “But people are dying.” Sadly, that's true. And not only are condolences in order, but we owe it to their families and all Americans to come up with a vaccine.
Like the flu, tests for coronavirus are now being made available to every state lab. Clinical trials will begin within five weeks for the vaccine. The federal government is working continuously, vigorously, and forcefully to cut the bureaucratic red tape that often slows down vaccine approval. And rest assured, the best, the brightest, and the resolute are working nonstop to create this vaccine.
Now, they say the mortality rate for coronavirus is higher than a flu. But consider though that we have a flu vaccine, and yet in 2019, 16,000 Americans died from the flu. Imagine if we did not have the flu vaccine, the flu would be a pandemic.
So all the talk about coronavirus being so much more deadly doesn't reflect reality. Without a vaccine, the flu would be far more deadly.
Now, what we do know is the mortality rate is much higher among elderly adults. According to reports, the risk of dying, if infected with the coronavirus, is higher the older you are, which might explain why they say children are not really affected by the virus.
But in addition to age, as Dr. Anthony Fauci has said, the risk is greater if you, as an elderly person, have an underlying medical condition like diabetes, heart disease, asthma. It is certainly higher if you're a smoker, which might explain why China has such a high mortality rate. Some studies have estimated that as many as 50% of Chinese men are smokers.