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The study reported that there are far fewer children under 18 hospitalized with Covid-19 than with the flu (Representational)
Paris:
About a year after the pandemic, it is clear that the new coronavirus is worse than the seasonal flu, and a study published on Friday described how much worse, showing a death rate almost three times higher among Covid-19 patients.
The research, which used French national data and was published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, underscored the increased severity of the disease in people with Covid-19.
The researchers compared data from 89,530 patients hospitalized with Covid-19 in March and April of this year with 45,819 patients hospitalized with seasonal influenza between December 2018 and the end of February 2019.
About 16.9 percent of Covid-19 patients died during the study period, which was during a devastating first wave across Europe when doctors had few therapies to turn to for seriously ill people.
This compares with a death rate of 5.8 percent among people with influenza.
Catherine Quantin, a professor at Dijon University Hospital and the French national health institute INSERM who jointly led the study, said the difference in mortality rates was “particularly striking” given that the 2018/19 flu season was the deadliest. that France had seen in five years.
The authors note that the difference in the number of hospitalizations, which saw twice as many people admitted for Covid-19 than for influenza, can be partly explained by existing immunity to influenza, either from a previous infection or from vaccination.
The researchers found that more Covid-19 patients required intensive care (16.3 percent compared to 10.8 percent for influenza), while the average stay in the ICU was nearly double (15 days compared to 8 days).
The study also reported that there are far fewer children under the age of 18 hospitalized with Covid-19 than with the flu: 1.4 percent compared to 19.5 percent.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is posted from a syndicated channel.)
