1*6 americans would be over 50,000,000...

And there are several (8 I believe) strains of flu going around...

It should also be noted that a much lower number of flu victims require hospitalization... With this one we're seeing anywhere from 10-20% of victims requiring treatment....

I agree that the fear of the medical system being overwhelmed is feeding this...

Nothing explains the toilet paper hoarding

1*6 americans would be over 50,000,000...

And there are several (8 I believe) strains of flu going around...

It should also be noted that a much lower number of flu victims require hospitalization... With this one we're seeing anywhere from 10-20% of victims requiring treatment....

I agree that the fear of the medical system being overwhelmed is feeding this...

Nothing explains the toilet paper hoarding

I think it is more like comparing one type of an apple to another. For example, it is said regularly that the flu is MUCH less contagious than C****-**. Seeing as how 1 out of every 6 people in the US have already gotten the flu this year (and its not yet done), the W***n would have to infect a few hundred million people to be considered MUCH more contagious; might happen, but I think not. I believe the primary reason the whole world in considerably more perturbed over the W***n and not the flu is b/c (as you mentioned), the flu infects tens of millions of people over a period of about 8 months, allowing hospitals time to deal with the tens of thousands of people who need to be hospitalized without overwhelming the system. As a result of the much higher rate of serious complications, the W***n has the POTENTIAL to generate hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations in only 3 or 4 months; again probably not going to happen, but scary as Schitt.