It is when you look at the flu data. You think the flu kills more people on average? It doesn't, and most people that die from the flu are also elderly or have pre-existing conditions.
Covid killed so many people because it was novel. It'll likely decline year over year as the population either develops antibodies or dies (of covid or natural causes).
There are also big reccurent flu events, like the "Hong Kong" 1968-1969 flu that caused between 1 and 4 million deaths (with half worldwide population compared to today).
In fact, supposedly the analysis of just how bad that flu epidemic had been (and how it had been largely ignored) is what basically created the postmodern version of the practice of epidemiology we still use today ?
This is also something I think is interesting. Covid is from a corona virus strain, but we have many corona viruses circulating already. With the flu every few decades we get a really bad strain. So if you compare the worst corona strain we know with the average flu strain, it's a bit of a biased comparison.
