A core tenet of this article is that a quarter of COVID-19-related deaths may not be reported as such. This appears to be determined by comparing this year’s de

A core tenet of this article is that a quarter of COVID-19-related deaths may not be reported as such. This appears to be determined by comparing this year’s death rates to previous years. This logic seems faulty. During the first wave, there were an awful lot of concerns from medical professionals that case rates for other serious, life-threatening issues dropped dramatically, presumably because people were avoiding ERs and the medical system in general. I recall heart attacks being an especially serious concern. (Intuitively, trauma rates also dropped, but heart attacks aren’t as dependent on people getting out of their houses.) That presumably led conditions that might normally be treatable to become even more deadly. At this time, this seemed to be a widespread concern, although it’s fallen by the wayside lately. We also have other issues that surely impact death rates: people are out of work; some are ending up on the streets. 2020 has been a stressful year, to say the least. It’s reasonable to assume that these circumstances cost lives. I would still blame COVID-19 for these deaths, but I would not say that these cases were SARS-CoV-2-positive. That leaves us with the question: what portion of the excess deaths this year were a direct result of someone contracting SARS-CoV-2? How do we actually determine with even an iota of accuracy how many people have contracted SARS-CoV-2 at some point? PSA: Unlike the rest of this comment, this is an opinion. I’ve heard an awful lot of arguments against getting tested. “By the time you’re positive, it’s too late.” “You should just stay home; that’s the lowest-risk option.” “Negative results give people a false sense of safety.” You’re an HN reader; you’re pretty smart, right? We need data. The more data we have, the better. If you’re in a position to get tested, even if you have no symptoms, you should do so. In the grand scheme of things, does your individual test matter? Probably not, especially if you’re negative. But neither does an individual vote, and we still do that.