3 ms·

It’s not that simple either though. I’ve heard that many people are postponing operations and treatments for existing conditions because of lockdowns, or fear o

It’s not that simple either though. I’ve heard that many people are postponing operations and treatments for existing conditions because of lockdowns, or fear of getting COVID should they go in for treatment, thereby making their existing condition more fatal. Many in my own family have chosen to skip regular checkups during COVID. Strictly speaking, excess deaths here are not due directly to COVID, but due to our response to COVID. And maybe the trade off is worth it, but we can’t tell just by looking at the excess deaths under one type of response. Comparing excess deaths between US and Sweden is maybe a bit more bulletproof. If — at the end of this — Sweden has fewer excess deaths than the US, then their response was in some measures more effective than ours. But there’s so much going on, we still won’t know for certain for quite a while.

zebrafish 6y ago
But the death certificate covid deaths match up pretty closely to excess deaths. I'm sure there are a number of those excess deaths that are from postponing care, but surely you don't think that there have been that many excess suicides and untreated emergencies. Surely people are not suggesting that all of the coroners in the country are in cahoots on a conspiracy to inflate covid numbers.
nemothekid 6y ago
>It’s not that simple either though. I’ve heard that many people are postponing operations and treatments for existing conditions because of lockdowns, or fear of getting COVID should they go in for treatment, thereby making their existing condition more fatal. Here is a chart of excess deaths: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/excess_deaths.htm https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/excess_deaths.htm The problem with arguments like these, is for America at least, why does the number of people who have a fear of medical care trend so closely with number of cases?

zebrafish 6y ago

But the death certificate covid deaths match up pretty closely to excess deaths. I'm sure there are a number of those excess deaths that are from postponing care, but surely you don't think that there have been that many excess suicides and untreated emergencies. Surely people are not suggesting that all of the coroners in the country are in cahoots on a conspiracy to inflate covid numbers.

nemothekid 6y ago

>It’s not that simple either though. I’ve heard that many people are postponing operations and treatments for existing conditions because of lockdowns, or fear of getting COVID should they go in for treatment, thereby making their existing condition more fatal. Here is a chart of excess deaths: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/excess_deaths.htm https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/excess_deaths.htm The problem with arguments like these, is for America at least, why does the number of people who have a fear of medical care trend so closely with number of cases?