With the The Stand. While there have been many works of fiction revolving around a virus that wipes out much of humanity, The Stand is arguably the best of the lot. It's also arguably King's greatest and most epic work as a writer, with the novel clocking it at well over 1000 pages. The Stand was also adapted into a quite good 1994 TV miniseries for the ABC network.
Unsurprisingly, stories about fast-spreading plagues are on the minds of many right now, thanks to the toll that Coronavirus has taken on people's lives in America and many other countries around the world. Normal life has been widely disrupted, with the number of confirmed cases of infection steadily rising, and governments choosing to take drastic measures to try and contain the spread. This has included going as far as locking down entire populations, demanding that everyone remain at home for now.
That said, there's been no reason given to believe that the Coronavirus, aka COVID-19, will be the end of humanity. Mankind has survived pandemics before, and will likely do so this time. For the characters in The Stand, Captain Trips truly was the end of the world, and they didn't feel fine.
The Stand: How Stephen King’s Superflu Compares to Coronavirus
Luckily for humanity in real life, the Coronavirus isn't nearly as deadly as The Stand's apocalyptic superflu. Captain Trips is extremely dangerous, and sadly, it's that way on purpose. The virus was developed as a bio-weapon by the U.S. government, and when it's accidentally set loose on the population, Captain Trips does its intended job well. Sporting a communicability rate of 99.4 percent, making it very easy to spread, once Captain Trips infects someone, a painful death is 100 percent certain. The virus initially presents itself as a common cold, with the same symptoms, but as it progresses, the effects get worse and worse, rendering the infected bedridden and delirious. A very small percentage of the human population is naturally immune to Captain Trips, but no vaccine is able to be created before the plague decimates most of the world. So basically, if one isn't immune, their chances of survival are nil.
By contrast, Coronavirus is much, much less of a death sentence for those that contract it. It's certainly a threat, and should be taken seriously, but roughly 80 percent of those infected only experience mild cold or flu-like symptoms, or none at all, although the virus is still very contagious, and can still be transmitted by those showing no symptoms. The other 20 percent of cases usually involve hospitalization, but only a small number of those - 1 to 3 percent, depending on the source - result in death. Those most likely to die of Coronavirus are the elderly and those with preexisting autoimmune conditions, although that is by no means a guarantee that someone much younger and healthier won't die if they get the disease. At the end of the day though, those constantly comparing The Stand's Captain Trips to Coronavirus as of late are way off base, as Stephen King himself has pointed out.
