Although a great deal of attention has been given to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic, it is most severe in one area of China and appears to have limited clinical ramifications outside of that region. Lost in the discussion about COVID-19 is the fact that the US is experiencing a severe influenza season that has already resulted in more than 16 000 deaths. This JAMA Infographic compares prevalence and number of deaths for the 2 diseases.

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Sources: CDC weekly US influenza surveillance report. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/index.htm

2019-2020 US flu season: preliminary burden estimates.

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/preliminary-in-season-estimates.htm

Coronavirus COVID-19 global cases by Johns Hopkins CSSE. https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the US.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-in-us.html

JAMA Network coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) resource center. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/pages/coronavirus-alert

Image source: C. Goldsmith and D. Rollin/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention