3 ms·
Number of people isn't necessarily the best metric, better to look at expected years of life lost, and by that metric covid looks less significant because it ki
by nullc 4y ago
Number of people isn't necessarily the best metric, better to look at expected years of life lost, and by that metric covid looks less significant because it kills the old and infirm at a much higher relative rate than e.g. the flu.
Then there is the problem of deaths being attributed to covid any time the person who died has a positive covid test in the month prior to their death. It's easy to find numerous examples of people who died in car crashes or from suicide being reported as covid deaths, even still.
And interestingly, the mortality rate could even be inversely related to long term effects-- after all, if covid kills you then you don't have any long term effects (except being dead).
- ajsnigrutin 4y ago> Then there is the problem of deaths being attributed to covid any time the person who died has a positive covid test in the month prior to their death. It's easy to find numerous examples of people who died in car crashes or from suicide being reported as covid deaths, even still. I never understood the reasoning behind this. I understand that pinpointing the cause of death is hard, especially with overcrowded hospitals, but I'm guessing that any doctor could circle the "high or low probability of covid causing the death" on the forms after the death of the patient. Covid+pneumonia, intubation, heart failure... sure, it's 99% it really was covid and not an unrelated undiscovered heart issue. Car crash... pretty sure it wasnt directly covids fault. The suicides would be a bit more touchy though.
- christkv 4y agoI think the us numbers are suspect due to the money incentive system set up where hospitalized patients with Covid got a bigger payment that ones without. So if someone came in with a gun shot we wound and was positive he would be marked as died with Covid thus releasing the extra payment and ending up in the statistics.