This is not the flu...... || By Dr Erin Bromage

It is not often I get tripped up with math, but this one got me.
The reproduction rate of influenza: R naught = 1.3
The reproduction rate of COVID-19: R naught = 3
Not much difference, right? It’s just the flu, right?
So if I have the flu, I pass it on to 1.3 people on average, those) infected people pass it on to 1.3 people. After 10 steps of
human transmission, my flu has infected 14 people.
So if I have COVID-19. After 10 reproductive steps, my infection has infected 59,000 people.

This is not the flu......