That's the only thing I've ever heard an expert compare this to. Not the yearly influenza. Every expert I've heard has stressed that the death rates are very, very different.
The panic is here, and all Trump accomplished was make it more likely by downplaying it at the most critical time. Countries that took it deadly seriously from the onset (like Japan) have not seen exponential spread. All the things we are doing now should have been started at least a month earlier and would have been had Trump followed the lead of his medical experts instead of insisting this was a "hoax" and "would get better".
Also, I was responding to political post of Cole's attacking AOC I don't see you reprimanding him using crisis as an opportunity. Only when Trump is criticized is that card played.