By Jay W. Richards
On Sept. 22, CNN triumphantly announced that 200,000 people had died from COVID-19 in the United States.
CNN tried various ways of rubbing in the 200,000 figure. Their best effort was an infographic blaring, “US COVID-19 deaths are equal to having the 9/11 attacks every day for 66 days.”
Here’s a less biased, but less catchy, comparison: 2020’s attributed COVID-19 deaths were equivalent to having another 2017-2018 flu and pneumonia season boosted by 13 percent.
The CDC estimated that about 177,000 Americans died during the 2017-2018 flu season, from either the flu itself or by complications of pneumonia. (The CDC never made a public announcement about this number, but you can count it yourself from data on its site, as I did in the chart below.) That was a bad year, noted at the time, but mostly by medical professionals. Those with good memories will recall seeing more “Wash Your Hands” and “Cough Into Your Elbows” posters.
Still, nobody remembers a panic. Just as nobody remembers mask mandates or political leaders shutting down small businesses and locking the healthy in their homes. Because, of course, none of that happened. (This lack of panics during past pandemics is detailed in our book, “The Price of Panic: How the Tyranny of Experts Turned a Pandemic into a Catastrophe.”)
On the same day as CNN’s announcement, the CDC officially posted a total 187,072 deaths attributed in some way to COVID-19. Deaths were boosted to a hair under 300,000 after adding in pneumonia and flu.
This is the more important number, since it captures the disease burden better than CNN’s. Even so, it’s not clear how many deaths were caused by the coronavirus alone, how many died with but not simply from infection by the coronavirus, and how many died of other things but just happened to be infected around the time of death.
The CDC itself caused a stir at the end of August by estimating that the virus directly caused only 6 percent, or now just over 11,000 of the 187,000 attributed deaths. Most of these deaths were in the elderly.
The remaining 94 percent died with and not exclusively of the coronavirus. These people also were on average elderly and had 2.6 other health problems. This implies a good fraction who succumbed had three or more comorbidities. In other words, most deaths attributed to the coronavirus were in very sick people.
Unfortunately, tests for the presence of the bug are prone to false positives. This is when the test says somebody has a current infection when they don’t. The test can mistake past infections as current, or even tag infections of other coronaviruses. The one causing COVID-19 is only one among many.
False positives are not normally a big concern. They are this year because of the huge number of tests given. According to The COVID Tracking Project, in September we averaged over 800,000 tests every single day. Over one million tests were conducted on several days.
And I doubt that motorcycle accidents and shootings were included in the flu death counts. All the left cares about is politicizing deaths and the more deaths, the better.
@Deplorable Me:
I know an Emergency Management Director in one of our counties. The State lists over 30 deaths from Chi-Com flu (it is a relatively small county). The EMD told me that he personally tracks all Chi-Com flu deaths and he can only [legitimately] count 11 as having died from the Chi-Com flu. Think about that; the State is increasing the number by more than twice. He said that a guy who died in a car wreck was listed on the death list along with a woman who actually died of a heart attack and didn’t even test positive for Chi-Com flu.
Up until then I didn’t believe the numbers were being inflated. Now I do.
@retire05: Hopefully some day the actual number will be determined. No doubt, if Democrats win, they will begin legitimate, if not downplayed counting.
How true.
If Donald Trump’s son Baron’s case was really only one day before he tested negative, it was either a false positive or an asymptomatic case.
We’ve interacted with plenty of people who were tested as positive but never needed any medication at all, much less a doctor/hospital visit.
So, these are not “cases” in the sense that they take up a hospital bed or require sparse treatment regimes.
They pad the case number for the sake of Panic.
Here’s a panicker.
LOL!
@Nan G: The Blathering Bitch Project?
The number of reported U.S. COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic began closely corresponds with the number of excess deaths that have occurred in the U.S. over the same period of time. Over 220,000 more people have thus far died in the U.S. during 2020 than would have been expected to die during a normal year, with all usual causes of death considered. That 220,000 fatality increase is due to COVID-19, and not to anything else. Coexisting conditions listed on a COVID-19 fatality’s death certificate are not the reason for the excess. One third of all U.S. adults have such a preexisting condition.
By election day, over a quarter of a million Americans will have died due to the pandemic. No corner has been turned. The rate of infection is increasing, not falling. No useful policy decisions concerning the pandemic can be made by anyone who denies that fundamental reality.
@Greg: More people are dying because they can’t get treatments, drug OD’s, suicide and crime in Democrat cities where they cater to left wing terrorists. An investigation would find the deaths by COVID19 overreported by at least twice.
@Greg: Did they calculate in the excess deaths the increase in suicide, those that went undiagnosed with fast moving cancers and any number of causes that have made the shut downs worse than the virus? 40% of the deaths are from just 5 states, all 5 states run by Democrats all 5 states put covid positive patients in nursing homes and rehabs, in with those at a fragile tipping point to lifes end. None of those 5 states were prepared for any pandemic.
Serious questions remain on the accuracy of tests. People assumed because of tracing. 6 % died without comorbidity or 12000 total for the US.
I think we are done listening to Democrat and technocrats.They are the ones hiding the science.
@Greg:
The is a validated document proving that hunter biden himself brought the laptop to the computer repair store. He signed the contract that if he failed to retrieve the laptop in 99 days he would forfeit ownership.
@Deplorable Me, #7:
So, the number of excess deaths just happens to closely correspond with the reported number of COVID-19 deaths? Deaths from a variety of other assorted causes just happen to have collectively increased so that the number of excess deaths has consistently kept pace with and matched the increasing COVID-19 death count?
That would be highly improbable. It’s far more likely that things are exactly what logic tells us they are: the COVID-19 death count matches the number of excess deaths because both indicate how many people COVID-19 has actually killed.
The simplest explanation that accounts for all observed facts is most often the correct one.
@Greg:
Does the biden campaign acknowledge the emails found on hunter Biden’s laptop are his and implicate joe biden in a criminal enterprise.
@Greg: Why don’t you provide your figures? When COVID deaths include those who were dying of multiple diseases already, they aren’t “excess”. Provide your figures.
@Greg: 225,000 deaths, while tragic, is far below the estimate of 2-12 million.
Epic win for Trump and our nation.
@Deplorable Me:
Listed coexisting conditions aren’t necessarily conditions that a person was “dying of”. Most people with diagnosed heart issues, weight issues, diabetes, etc, aren’t dying of them. Most people would normally go on to live for many years with such health issues.
Since I last checked, the excess death count for 2020 has been updated. As of early October, there have been 300,000 more U.S. deaths than would have occurred in a normal year:
October 20, 2020 – Amid pandemic, U.S. has seen 300,000 ‘excess deaths,’ with highest rates among people of color
According to CDC calculations, at least 2 out of every 3 of these excess deaths was a direct result of COVID-19 illness:
October 20, 2020 – Excess Deaths Associated with COVID-19, by Age and Race and Ethnicity — United States, January 26–October 3, 2020
It’s up to the reader to provide the ability to understand what the articles are clearly stating. I suppose the numbers may account for excess deaths indirectly related to the pandemic. Excess deaths exceed the COVID-19 fatality count by around 100,000. Experts do believe the official COVID-19 count is most likely low, however, owing to those who die outside of medical care facilities without having ever received a diagnosis.
@Greg: Funny… when CDC says masks don’t protect people, they aren’t believed. When they are caught telling hospitals to list anyone that died WITH COVID died FROM COVID, that was just blown off as insignificant. Now, they provide other numbers which you think everyone should just assume they are true and correct.
We don’t know and we CAN’T know until and unless the data is sorted through and cleaned up. That would entail examining each death certificate and I doubt that is going to happen.
Trump is an idiot. If you want to believe an idiot because he expounds on things he’s utterly clueless about while telling you that the experts don’t know beans, go on ahead, but you’re doing yourself, the people you come into contact with, and the nation you like to think you care about no favor.
I’d have thought the episode involving hydroxychloroquine would have taught people something. Maybe it should have taught me something.
Why is joe biden not campaigning?
He’s preparing for Thursday. Thursday is what will decide things for many who are still undecided. The minds of most rally attendees are already made up.
@Greg: What the HCQ episode showed me is that the left is more than happy to see people go without treatment and die as long as they can ding Trump. In the end, the left was proven to be lying about HCQ, like with everything else.
Tens of millions would have died from the wuhan red death had biden been anywhere near the Oval Office.
@Greg:
If I wanted to believe an idiot, I’d believe you. And the hydroxychloroquine taught me one thing; when it was all doctors had to give their patients to try to make them well, you left wingers politicized it because you would rather see Americans die than go along with the President. You’re sick assholes, all of you.
@July 4th American: Because the liberal media does it for him, without him saying stupid stuff they have to bury.
@Greg: He is MEMORIZING LINES. He’s being fitted for his earpiece. He’s practicing citing which flavor ice cream he likes best.
Over 145k are watching the Trump rally in Erie PA on Right Side Broadcasting
@Deplorable Me:
OMG, the Hill is reporting Trump wanted 3 agents in a meeting to try malts. What are we living in? A Socialist nation where the President offers malts in a meeting? The HORROR!!!!
@retire05: Hopefully MSNBC doesn’t send Joe too many revisions of the questions they are asking in the debate. That could confuse him.
@Greg:
Considering there were no Biden “rally” attendees, that’s a lot of phantom votes to conjure up.
Biden is corrupt and used his office to get rich in Ukraine/China.
The election is over. Trump wins.
I’m sorry…So sorry…
November 1, 2020 – White House Covid adviser Dr Scott Atlas apologizes for appearing on Russian state TV
You were unaware that Russia Today is a registered foreign agent???
The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center
Comrade Greggie trying to bring another dead thread to life since he seems to lose every battle he starts.
Comrade Greggie’s Chinese paycheck must be awesome.
@Greg: Did he try to sell anyone’s political influence or extort them to protect his son? Now THAT would be a scumbag move.
What is Biden’s grand plan to “shut down” the virus? He says he’s going to shut it down without shutting down the economy again. What’s his plan?
@Deplorable Me, #30:
THE BIDEN PLAN TO COMBAT CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) AND PREPARE FOR FUTURE GLOBAL HEALTH THREATS
I would post a link to Trump’s detailed COVID-19 response plan for comparison, but I couldn’t find one.
@Greg: No. Provide the part where he “shuts down” the virus. I know what his “plan” is; it is the duplicate of Trump’s plan, which he plagiarizer. Where is the part where he “shuts down” the virus.
November 22, 2020 – The National Guard has been deployed to El Paso to provide support with the morgue crisis
@Greg: Remember, Biden says, “Truaninonashufodopressure”, so no doubt, he has the answers.