"... the author makes the tired claim that coronavirus is no deadlier or dangerous than regular old influenza."

This Medium article (by an actual expert) points out the ignorance of using CFR (case fatality rate) instead of IFR (infection fatality rate) in a time when testing is not only discouraged, but ridiculed. While CFR (which ignores many millions of asymptomatic "Typhoid Marys") does show that covid is no more dangerous than flu, it's a dishonest representation. The IFR shows a rate of 6.5 to 10 times greater for covid-19:

https://medium.com/microbial-instincts/clarifying-the-true-fatality-rate-of-covid-19-same-as-the-flu-8148e38b9ab5