Wuhan Virus Update

About that "only 6% of COVID19 deaths are caused by COVID so only 9,000 people have died of it and the numbers are inflated" - I need to say something to correct and clarify this.

1. No, the numbers are not inflated. Had those people not come down with SARS-CoV-2, they would likely still be alive (most, not all). Just like if you have HIV and come down with pneumonia and die, you die of pneumonia, exacerbated by HIV compromising your immune system. If you have cancer and concurrently contract the flu which kills you, then you die of the flu, not cancer, but cancer is co-listed because your chemo ruined your immune system. Make sense?

2. It's great that so few of healthy people are at high risk of dying. Unfortunately, they can still pass this along to those who aren't (often unknowingly b/c they're asymptomatic), and considering in what poor health a significant portion of our population is (either their own fault thanks to poor diet and exercise, or through no fault of their own due to disease), they're still at high risk. This also applies to the notion that we should just go for it and get to herd immunity - you're condemning a whole lot of people to death or severe lifelong disabilities caused by infection of this virus; secondary consequences that we still don't fully understand or are as yet aware. Alternatively, if we can continue to practice safe distancing, wear masks, use proper hygiene, get in better shape and wait for a vaccine. We can then achieve herd immunity much more safely and without so damn many people dying.

3. No, the CDC didn't "quietly" hide this data or try to keep it from you - it's posted right there on their website (no better transparency than that) and they've been posting weekly data since it started. If you're going to bitch about the media being shitty trying to "brainwash" you, and then only rely on the media to tell you what's going on rather than going to the source to read it for yourself and keep up with what the doctors and scientists are saying, then you're the problem, not the media.

4. The CDC has said all along that having underlying health issues such as diabetes, obesity, chronic health conditions, or being elderly puts everyone in a higher risk category. This is the data showing that by the numbers, it's nothing new. Had SARS-CoV-2 not spread around the world, most of those people would still be alive living with the co-morbidities that they'd had. What's more, it continues to be a risk for our population that continues to have these co-morbidities.

Over 180,000 Americans have died of COVID this year. We are on track to lose 300,000 - those numbers, and the total number of deaths - "excess deaths" - are above and beyond the normal number of deaths, and put COVID into 3rd place for cause of death behind heart disease and cancer. The only thing different this year from past years is the emergence and spread of this new virus. You cannot fake the number of dead Americans and how many more deaths we've had this year, no matter what the cause. COVID-19 is the only variable that has changed, whether directly or as culprit. Full stop.

To look at the data in better context, review the Excess Deaths page: www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/excess_deaths.htm

This is a screen shot of the interactive graph of deaths from all causes Jan 2017-Sept 2020, go to the page and hover over it for more:

As I said, "most, not all" would still be alive and I'm basing that on the normal number of deaths per year vs the excess deaths we have now. There are certainly reports of people who delayed seeking treatment for fear of exposure and who died of causes that weren't listed as COVID but probably were (especially in the beginning before we had tests for it and it was racing rampant through the population). The suicides, the cancer deaths and heart attacks due to delayed treatment, and lack of facilities or healthcare workers - all of that is indirectly attributable, but would not be listed as COVID on the death certificate. All of those deaths would have added to the detriment to our economy, because you don't lose that many workers and not have it affect the GDP. Had we not shut down, we would have lost many more and it would've been worse - history has taught us that.

Did you know that 61,000 people died of the flu in 2017-18? Funny how no one ever questioned those numbers, or the recommendations of the CDC back then (except some who kept applauding anti-vaxxers). Politicians can attempt to politicize science all they want, but there's no denying the facts. Trump himself went from calling it a hoax to holding daily press briefings about it, from refusing to wear a mask to wearing one. To holding round tables with pharmaceutical companies and hounding them to produce treatments faster than is physically and safely possible.

Notice I haven't blamed him for all the problems that we've had during this pandemic. His administration's handling of it has been atrocious, but he inherited a system that was unprepared (albeit they had created a guidebook, which he tossed), a government that the population distrusted and barely pays attention to, a party that has a history of dismissing science and facts, and a short-sighted population that refuses to spend the time and money becoming informed and prepared for problems that aren't concrete and immediate (cough *global warming* cough *pandemics* cough) and is soft, opulent, unhealthy, and oppositionally defiant at being told what to do even if it is in their best interests. All of that together created a perfect storm which resulted in the United States dealing with this crisis the worst of any nation on the planet.

While other countries have gotten their disease outbreaks under control and are re-opening safely and getting slowly back to normal, we're still in limbo with over ten million out of work, businesses closing every day, and a government that is enacting measures that barely temporarily help individuals without addressing the underlying issues that remain - insufficient infrastructure, lack of preparedness, inadequate public education, of and a broken healthcare system.