False News Report On Hawaii Flu Deaths Fuels Covid-19 Conspiracy Theories … An article in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser stated in error that flu and pneumonia deaths had surpassed those from Covid, undermining the state’s message that the virus should be taken seriously.
“Flu Proves Deadlier than Covid” read the headline stripped across the top of Monday’s edition of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
“As COVID-19 continues to dictate public life and government policy in Hawaii, influenza and pneumonia have quietly killed at least 859 people over the past 12 months, exceeding the coronavirus death toll for the entire pandemic,” the story began.
It was a surprising revelation after more than a year-and-a-half of daily Covid-19 case and death counts, the sudden halt of tourism, restrictions on business and the angst-ridden months of mask-wearing and testing. All that for something less deadly than the annual flu?
