As NYC Nears 1,000 COVID-19 Deaths, How Does Pandemic Compare to Typical Flu Season?

New York had 4,749 deaths as a result of influenza and pneumonia in 2018, according to the CDC. The New York City Department of Health said that roughly 2,000 of those deaths happen within the five boroughs every year. If divided equally over the course of a year, slightly under 400 New Yorkers died each month in 2018 from the flu or pneumonia, around 167 of whom were in the city. It is consistently one of the top five causes of death in the state and NYC. Comparatively, if the number of New Yorkers who died as a result of COVID-19 in March was multiplied over the course of a year, the state could see more than 18,000 people die as a result — making it the third-leading cause of death behind heart disease and cancer, and well ahead of any other cause.