I do not think that there is any doubt that the total number of cases are underreported due to the following: 1) most people have a mild illness 2) there are limited number of testing supplies.

For that reason, I am sure that many more people have been infected, which makes it looks like it is more of a death sentence for people.

In contrast, the flu is so common that people do not take it seriously enough and it kills tens of thousands every year. Despite the thousands that die from flu, people do not take it seriously because a vast majority recover fully. That and people tend to lump other illnesses in with influenza like "stomach flu" which is not "flu" at all.

The real double-edged sword is reporting. The media has a responsibility to report what is happening, but 99% of the time they are reporting without appropriate context. The number of cases is scary when reported singularly, but there are over 7.5 BILLION people in the world.

I do believe this is a serious issue, but it is not one that I think should change the way we live and work except that more people should pay more attention to proper prevention. Further, the government and industry need to respond with appropriate testing supplies and even a vaccine as you note.

Lastly, I think that the timing of the year will help tamp down this outbreak as we move to spring and summer. With that being said, I think it is likely that we see this as a recurring event similar to influenza. Maybe, we should rename it Influenza-C.