In the flattening of the curve diagram, wouldn’t both curves represent roughly equal populations? So only the peak changes, not the overall total?

Question

I guess this could be considered mathematics or economics, really, it is statistics.

In: Mathematics

Answer 1

Not necessarily — there is a lot of confusion/misinformation about this.

Flattening the curve not only decreases the peak (and all that comes from overwhelming your medical system), but it also decreases how fast the virus spreads (the “R0”). Lowering the R0 lowers the total number of people affected by a substantial percentage.

This is entirely separate from other things you get by adding more time (like vaccines, better treatment options, and so on).