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Alabama Had More Deaths Than Births in 2020
- tomc1985 5y agoCovid death rate is 1 for every 477 people (US population / US covid deaths)... given that those deaths are not being distributed equally it's not surprising
- hilbert42 5y ago"Still, some politicians there continue to push back on vaccines." Tragically, perhaps we're witnessing evolution at work here.
- fortran77 5y agoHacker News has a real problem when it comes to trying to understand people with different backgrounds, mindsets, and values.
- iab 5y agoThere aren’t too many issues that are black and white, but the development of a vaccine that will/has saved ~280k people in the US and the rejection of that same vaccine due to willful ignorance (for a large part) is definitely one of them
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- iab 5y agoparticipation in society requires personal responsibility. Don’t want to be responsible? Don’t engage then. Not addressing the rest of that asinine comment.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- yesbc 5y agoAnti-vax folks could infect and kill more than one person who did not want to die. At this point how is it much different from hacking someone with a machete? Except then the person has a fighting chance. Let’s not look beyond the extreme reality right now seeking to apply normal morality.
- chronotis 5y agoIn this instance, I don't think it's a problem specific to the HN community.
- rpmisms 5y agoFor some, "Give me Liberty or give me Death!" is simply an anachronistic saying. For others, it's an important motto.
- hilbert42 5y agoThis is fine if the person saying it is the only one involved. Unfortunately, there are many in that community - for example children not yet of age - who have absolutely no say in the matter. Thus it's incumbent on people like us to at least try to help them. QED.
- rpmisms 5y agoIf Covid impacted the general population the same way it did kids, this would be over by now. We know who the vulnerable people are, and almost all of them are over 50. I don't think that's the best way to approach the issue. Fundamental freedoms can be dangerous. This is something that's hard to admit for people who've never experienced the more real side of life, the people who haven't stared death in the eye before. Patrick Henry was not the only person involved when he made his declaration. Many people died, due in part to his words. Life is nasty, hard, and has a 100% mortality rate. Let me put it this way: would becoming a full police state be worth it to you, if it eliminated Covid? No? Where's the line?
- tclancy 5y ago> Life is nasty, hard, and has a 100% mortality rate. The same is true of rabies. Say what you actually mean.
- codetrotter 5y agoI keep thinking, even though I myself have gotten vaccinated against COVID-19, and I wish that as many people as possible get the vaccine too so we can have a chance of herd immunity, that in a way maybe a small small amount of people not getting vaccinated is good. I think of this because I think, even though I trust the vaccine to be safe, what if there are unknown side-effects. In that way it is good that some people don’t get vaccinated. So that humanity still has some people that don’t get those side effects. So in a way, it would be like a natural way for the human race as a whole, to continue existing, by some people not getting vaccinated and possibly being the ones that made the right choice after all. Does that make sense? I think it does. Even though I believe in the vaccine. But I am talking about the bigger picture of the humanity as a whole over the whole course of its history. That it’s like a strategy that helps us survive by having us believe different things and therefore acting differently on the same information. And that sometimes one group of people is right, and usually it’s the majority group. But that this helps us survive those times when the minority is actually right.
- rpmisms 5y agoI think you're going to get some shit, but I agree. Lock-step action is almost never the smartest solution, even if it may be the right one.
- hilbert42 5y agoI have already but I'm used to it. As I said in my reply, what matters most is concern for those who'll be infected next and those who are already dying. If awkward language has to be used to rectify things/save lives then so be it (it may as well be me as anyone else). I have difficulty understanding why this is not the correct and proper thing to do. What's so wrong with stating the obvious truth? It seems to me that these days sensibilities and what people think are more important than saving lives. If this is in fact so, then heaven help us.
- jbigelow76 5y agoI keep thinking, even though I myself have gotten vaccinated against COVID-19, and I wish that as many people as possible get the vaccine to so we can have a chance of herd immunity, that in a way maybe a small small amount of people not getting vaccinated is good. Imagine reading that sentence in a newspaper op-ed in 1956 but with the word "polio" in place of "COVID-19".
- hilbert42 5y agoTrue, but that has no bearing on facts. And I did use the word 'perhaps'. The tragedy is people are dying there more than many other places in the US, so that begs the question as to why. Covering the issues up with sweet words or ignoring them doesn't help the next lot who'll become infected and those who are seriously ill and about to die.
- tclancy 5y agoWhat are facts, exactly?
- shock-value 5y agoScientific evidence, in this case that the vaccines are statistically effective and safe.
- yesbc 5y agoWhy do anti-vaxxers get a pass when it comes to “do no harm to others”?
- jrochkind1 5y agoAs does the entire USA. I couldn't say about the rest of the world.
- losvedir 5y agoThat sort of surprises me. On worldometers, Alabama's per capita death rate isn't that unusual. It's ranked 5th and roughly on par with, e.g. Massachusetts. And that's now counting Delta variant and its likely higher percentage unvaccinated population; I don't think I remember it being so high in 2020. So what's the story? Higher death rate than other states excluding covid? Very low birth rate? It's also the case for other states and just not mentioned here?
- rpmisms 5y agoAlabama is fifth highest in deaths per million by state, and I'd assume that this is simply an issue of birth rates. Combine that with a lot of poor drug addicts, and you have your answer.
- 1123581321 5y agoWithout covid the population change from births and deaths would’ve stayed nearly flat in 2020. Covid added 8-10k deaths (I couldn’t find a source to easily calculate this, sorry.) Alabama isn’t alone, though; 25 states had the same problem last year. Here’s a map. https://carsey.unh.edu/publication/snapshot/2020-deaths-exceeded-births-in-record-number-of-states https://carsey.unh.edu/publication/snapshot/2020-deaths-exce...
- MiscIdeaMaker99 5y ago> Alabama isn’t alone, though; 25 states had the same problem last year. Very interesting. I wonder if the reason this narrative about Alabama catches so many eyes is because it plays into negative biases about Alabama, and other similar southern US states.
- jmspring 5y agoIt's sad for the people that continue to believe the Vax'd politicians and Fox news / Other source pundits also Vax'd that there is a conspiracy. Sadly we won't see mass murder charges against said vax'd pundits. But you reap what your beliefs sew.
- zdragnar 5y agoRemember when (now) vice president Harris and all of the other channels' pundits were loudly proclaiming that they wouldn't dare take the vaccine because the wrong political party championed it, and that the FDA and CDC couldn't be trusted? Remember when we were told by the Director of NIAID that masks wouldnt help? Or that we only needed just so many people to reach herd immunity, but that was later revealed to be an intentional lie so he could later increase the number without it sounding as scary? Remember when the mayors of DC, LA, SF and a dozen other cities, along with the governors of several states, mandated wearing face masks, then were, on multiple occasions, caught in public settings indoors not social distancing or wearing masks? Remember when several members of congress were caught putting on face masks for a photo, then immediately removing them again? Remember the Emmys where none of the stars wore masks but all of the "help" had to? You reap what you sow indeed. It is amazing that anyone trusts anyone anymore.
- boboboboboboo 5y agoHarris never said she didn’t trust the CDC or FDA. She specifically said she didn’t trust Trump, and would take a vaccine when it was recommended by CDC and FDA.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- j4kp07 5y agoNow tell us what Cuomo and Biden said, and let us know if you are FOR or AGAINST elected officials breaking their own city ordinances designed to protect the public.
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- TrispusAttucks 5y agoWhy are they singling out Alabama to try and fit their narrative? Several US States [1] are in a similar position. [1] https://carsey.unh.edu/publication/snapshot/2020-deaths-exceeded-births-in-record-number-of-states https://carsey.unh.edu/publication/snapshot/2020-deaths-exce...
- lern_too_spel 5y agoFrom the headline ("A Grim First For The State"), Alabama is highlighted because it's the first time this has happened in that state. Several states in that map also had births exceed deaths in 2019.
- TrispusAttucks 5y agoSure. Still seems awfully manufactured even for someone who enjoys NPR. It's about what's not covered as much as what is covered.
- mmmrtl 5y agoSeems it got covered just because the state's health officer said mentioned it in a health briefing. The nationwide analysis was done months ago.
- mmmrtl 5y agoSeveral = 25
- refurb 5y agoBecause people will click on articles where the headline validates their pre-existing beliefs.
- quantified 5y agoThe good citizens of Alabama pay their top health officials to single out Alabama for their attention.
- shusaku 5y agoI wonder if it’s just deaths or if there’s a decline in births as well. I could see a lot of families put off having kids for fear of packed hospitals or other restrictions.
- TehShrike 5y agoYeah, the deaths are high, but the story here is "deaths > births"... and you only get that story when births are pretty low. That ain't gonna do away once covid-19 leaves the cause-of-death tables.
- quantified 5y agoIt would be good to a couple years of birth rate and death rate. Maybe it’s just a drop in baby-making. Or maybe not. Maybe births are up since last year too.
- keithnz 5y agoBirth rate had a significant fall off, but the death rate is high, even if you substitute in previous years birth rates, deaths would still be more than births.
- quantified 5y agoShare a link for 2020? I can find 2019 here [https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/healthstats/assets/ataglance2019.pdf https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/healthstats/assets/atagl...] showing: Live Births 58,615 Deaths 54,109 2020 deaths totalling 64,714 is way up, would shrink the state in 2019 (pre-pandemic) too. If Covid isn’t dangerous, or is just a hoax, an explanation for the extra 10,000 or so deaths would be really useful.
- keithnz 5y agothe 2020 stats were in the article.
- quantified 5y agoWhat about net migration? It would be easy for a state that received a lot of retirees to grow every year despite more deaths than births.