Giving thanks

Submitted by Genevieve Briand
Posted 11/24/20

Dear Editor:

I am thankful, like many, for not buying into the panic.

Per the CDC death counts, from March 15 to Sept. 19, the U.S. experienced 200,000 deaths due to COVID-19 and 1.5 million …

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Giving thanks

Posted

Dear Editor:

I am thankful, like many, for not buying into the panic.

Per the CDC death counts, from March 15 to Sept. 19, the U.S. experienced 200,000 deaths due to COVID-19 and 1.5 million deaths due to other causes. That’s an average of over 60,000 total deaths per week or 9,000 deaths per day, and that is well within the range of weekly/daily deaths numbers experienced from 2014 to 2019. Although no age group escapes death, the highest percentage of weekly deaths, 30%, comes from the oldest age group, 85 and over, and the lowest percentage, 1%, comes from the two youngest age groups, 0-14 and 15-24 years. This is good news.

What is puzzling is that the percentage of weekly deaths across age groups would be consistent over a period covering pre-COVID-19 death counts, from Jan. 26 to Sept. 5. If elderly people are more vulnerable to COVID-19 than the rest of the population, as we have been told, shouldn’t we observe the percentage of total deaths coming from the 85 and over age group, increase? If we do not, is it because we’ve done such a great job preventing elderly from passing away …?

Looking at weekly all deaths, and their causes, over time, outlines the fact that total death highs and lows are seasonal, occurring over the years, at the same time interval. It also reveals that total death peaks are consistently accompanied by death peaks from each and every select death cause listed in the CDC datasets consulted.

We note that heart diseases are the leading cause of death and that the peak of weekly total deaths in 2020 is higher than 2018 by 11,292 deaths. Naturally, the peak of weekly total deaths in 2020 corresponds to the peak of COVID-19 deaths. What doesn’t make sense is that the peak of deaths due to heart diseases is lower in 2020 than in 2018, by 367 deaths. Where have all the heart attacks gone?

Finally, we note that the number of COVID-19 deaths is reported to be higher than heart disease deaths, in the three weeks of highest total deaths and COVID-19 deaths, by an amount equal to the decrease of deaths caused by heart diseases, chronic lower respiratory diseases, flu and pneumonia, and more, over the previous week.

I am grateful for friends, family and neighbors who instinctively know to ask: Wait a minute!? The data support their assessment that COVID-19 is not alarming.

May everyone celebrate life, find peace and be well this Thanksgiving season!

Genevieve Briand

Byron

  

(Editor’s note: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated last month that there were 299,028 more deaths in the United States than is typical between late January through Oct. 3. Of those “excess deaths,” the CDC attributed 66% to COVID-19.)

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