While it can be difficult to compare data directly, it’s clear the new virus is more contagious and more deadly than seasonal flu, said Glen Mays, chair of health systems, management and policy at the Colorado School of Public Health. … “That’s why we never talk about shutting down the economy” during flu season, he said. “No pharmaceutical prevention, plus being more infectious, plus a much higher death rate are why we had to pull out all the stops.”