Quasi-Scientific discussion of the Wuhan Corona Virus

I guess for me one of the most aggravating things I am seeing across multiple forums and most media is how people are calling this virus "The flu" This virus may cause flu-like symptoms but beyond that, the two viruses are quite different organisms.

The flu is caused by influenza virus strains and those strains differ in transmissibility and fatality rates sometimes drastically. The corona viri family consists of quite a few different strains some cause mild illness like the common cold others cause severe illness and fairly high fatality rates (SARS, MERS, etc.)

One of the big concerns about a pandemic coronavirus with high transmissibility is that coronaviruses, in general, mutate very fast and so the idea of a vaccine becoming available quickly is pretty far fetched. My concern is if this virus has even a moderate transmission rate and moderate fatality rate it has the potential to create a lot of chaos worldwide.

I think the main thing we have to worry about in the west is the panic and economic hardships that will come about if there is a widespread pandemic. The disruptions will cause people to behave like it is much worse than it is in reality.
So I think a logical discussion will include both the science behind this outbreak and the social effects that a pandemic will cause

I guess for me one of the most aggravating things I am seeing across multiple forums and most media is how people are calling this virus "The flu" This virus may cause flu-like symptoms but beyond that, the two viruses are quite different organisms.

The flu is caused by influenza virus strains and those strains differ in transmissibility and fatality rates sometimes drastically. The corona viri family consists of quite a few different strains some cause mild illness like the common cold others cause severe illness and fairly high fatality rates (SARS, MERS, etc.)

One of the big concerns about a pandemic coronavirus with high transmissibility is that coronaviruses, in general, mutate very fast and so the idea of a vaccine becoming available quickly is pretty far fetched. My concern is if this virus has even a moderate transmission rate and moderate fatality rate it has the potential to create a lot of chaos worldwide.

I think the main thing we have to worry about in the west is the panic and economic hardships that will come about if there is a widespread pandemic. The disruptions will cause people to behave like it is much worse than it is in reality.
So I think a logical discussion will include both the science behind this outbreak and the social effects that a pandemic will cause

well crap,
I cannot delete the above post or even edit it maybe mods can do that for me.
Thanks