[Mark Letti]

USA population 330,000,000 divided by 200,000= 0.0006% of the population in USA have died of COVID.... and of those who died a high % are over 60 years old...
I’m sorry but those numbers do not require a shout down of our economy and lives.

[Keysers]

I find it hard to believe healthcare professionals across this nation are conspiring to fake the number of Covid deaths. In a nursing near my Mom, 33 patients died over a 10 day period of symptoms consistent with Covid. They only reported 11 because the other 22 were not able to get tested. They were not counted as cases or deaths! I believe the count could actually be low. I also believe Covid is the cause of death if the person would be alive had they not contracted Covid.

[graciegirl]

Leaving politics and blame out if this, most of us were aware enough of the great danger of Covid-19 after seeing the on the news the huge number of people dying from it in other parts of the world.

It began in China and we began to hear about it in the last part of 2019, but in the early months it was happening so fast that it was impossible to get figures and facts on the deaths and the awful illnesses clogging hospitals with people unable to breathe and to get oxygen into their systems.

Severe illness began to be noticed in NYC in February. By March, thousands of people began to die in NYC. Not even medical experts knew exactly what to do and how to stop the spread. Many people are now being blamed for not knowing WHAT to do but at the beginning, even the people and agencies that we have always relied on were struggling for understanding.

Following fast on the heels of fear and uncertainty, came conspiracy figures and big mouth politicians.

What a mess. I look at our daughter who lives in London. The figures for the U.K. are much better than ours and their government has been much stricter; fines harsher, and punishments greater.

We will never know. Some people don't care about rules and laws and would ignore them no matter who issued the rules. Some people, too many, do not have even a basic comprehension about communicable disease.

I see people acting to me in a reasonable manner being taunted by others for wearing masks.

What is good is that most people aren't fooled and "get" the science of being careful and respecting this awful virus.

[Two Bills]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

Leaving politics and blame out if this, most of us were aware enough of the great danger of Covid-19 after seeing the on the news the huge number of people dying from it in other parts of the world.

It began in China and we began to hear about it in the last part of 2019, but in the early months it was happening so fast that it was impossible to get figures and facts on the deaths and the awful illnesses clogging hospitals with people unable to breathe and to get oxygen into their systems.

Severe illness began to be noticed in NYC in February. By March, thousands of people began to die in NYC. Not even medical experts knew exactly what to do and how to stop the spread. Many people are now being blamed for not knowing WHAT to do but at the beginning, even the people and agencies that we have always relied on were struggling for understanding.

Following fast on the heels of fear and uncertainty, came conspiracy figures and big mouth politicians.

What a mess. I look at our daughter who lives in London. The figures for the U.K. are much better than ours and their government has been much stricter; fines harsher, and punishments greater.

We will never know. Some people don't care about rules and laws and would ignore them no matter who issued the rules. Some people, too many, do not have even a basic comprehension about communicable disease.

I see people acting to me in a reasonable manner being taunted by others for wearing masks.

What is good is that most people aren't fooled and "get" the science of being careful and respecting this awful virus.

GG. Things in UK are not as good as you may think.
Our numbers are pretty abysmal, and now we face the second wave, with numbers rising every day, and doubling every 7 days
The latest effort to control the virus seems to rely on the pubs closing at 10pm. and everyone being nice to each other.
I am sure it will work fine!

[sloanst]

It's a virus for Pete's sake. We don't hear this type of rhetoric during a flu season when up to 80,000 die. Usually it takes 2.5 years to create a vaccine. From all reports I have read, we will have a Covid-19 vaccine within a couple of months. That will be only about a year or a little less from the start of this in the US to vaccine production. The manufacturing facilities and distribution networks were ramped up months ago and are ready to go. We are a free country and people do as they please. You can not expect a free people to be locked down. They won't stand for it and there is no basis in law to allow it. These are the consequences of freedom. To place blame for an act of nature on anyone is simply immature and childish. The only person you can control is yourself.

COVID-19 Charts

[Bucco]

Originally Posted by Villageswimmer

Yes. Has anyone ever heard an explanation from Woodward who, after being given this information from the horse’s mouth, chose to keep it quiet since March? Would things have been better if Woodward had blown the whistle and released this tape immediately?

Bob Woodward is NOT our President.

Our President has the responsibility.....

Why oh why are we always and continually looking to blame someone else.

Why cannot the "cultists" (I use that word now because have been convinced) ever see the wrongs.

Woodward would have been EXTREMELY IRRESPONSIBLE to say anything as a journalists and you guys would have called him fake news, etc. Loudly

[biker1]

No. The actual number of deaths (by any cause) are widely available. Again, if you want to know the number of deaths caused by COVID-19, compare the actual number of total deaths, month-by-month, from 2019 to 2020. Since death rates are pretty stable, any increase is due to COVID-19.

Originally Posted by Two Bills

It's election year, and by November no one will have died, or the total will be in the millions, depending on the parties take on the numbers.
Meanwhile there have been a lot of funerals that would not have taken place if the virus had not come through.

[Thomas Schreiber]

There are more than 400000 deaths from heart attacks and more than 300000 from cancer in 2020. Why isn't that headline news?

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

Sorry GG, but I have to disagree with you. SOME of those people would be alive (but for how long?), SOME died of COVID-19. We simply don't have good data to go by. There is tremendous financial incentive to hospitals to list COVID-19 as a cause of hospitalization and/or death. Every hospital has coding specialists that do nothing but take ALL the diagnoses on a patient chart and list them in the proper ORDER to maximize reimbursement. As you can imagine, COVID ranks high on the list, perhaps as much as $13,000 additional revenue. It makes financial sense, otherwise they are just leaving money on the table.
Death certificates are different, they are filled out by the physician, although on occasion these coding experts have asked me to change to order in which I wrote it. Needless to say, I invited them to perform a reproductive act upon themselves.

I think I understand what you are saying and I really don't care if the hospitals get more money by using their coding and I don't really like people, even doctors, who I respect and admire, saying things like "for how long". I am 80. Assuredly not for a whole lot longer but I find life just as satisfying and exciting and worthwhile and full as I ever did. You will too Doc. No need to feel bad. I do understand the point you are making.

The bottom line is this, but for Covid-19, many, many, many, many people would not have died ...in the last seven months.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by Thomas Schreiber

There are more than 400000 deaths from heart attacks and more than 300000 from cancer in 2020. Why isn't that headline news?

Because of all those folks who died we now have a new cause of death. That is why.

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

I think I understand what you are saying and I really don't care if the hospitals get more money by using their coding and I don't really like people, even doctors, who I respect and admire, saying things like "for how long". I am 80. Assuredly not for a whole lot longer but I find life just as satisfying and exciting and worthwhile and full as I ever did. You will too Doc. No need to feel bad. I do understand the point you are making.

The bottom line is this, but for Covid-19, many, many, many, many people would not have died ...in the last seven months.

That's true. And BTW, my comment "for how long" had nothing to do with age and everything to due with their underlying health. A person with a 15% LVEF has about 2 months, a person with stage 4 pancreatic ca 4-5 months, maybe. If they get sick with COVID, it will probably kill them. If they just test positive without additional symptoms, maybe not.

PS. I think you'll live to 110

[jklfairwin]

Not exactly true. Thttps://www.snopes.com/fact-check/medicare-hospitals-covid-patients/ BTW there is no patient for which the hospital receives $0 - they receive whatever Medicare pays under a very complicated formula. Many hospital admisistrators game the system all the time on all sorts of admissions to get the most money; that is their job.

[loweglor]

We are keenly aware of deaths from heart attacks and cancer. A deadly virus? Not so aware and certainly not protected.

[Carla B]

Originally Posted by jklfairwin

Not exactly true. Thttps://www.snopes.com/fact-check/medicare-hospitals-covid-patients/ BTW there is no patient for which the hospital receives $0 - they receive whatever Medicare pays under a very complicated formula. Many hospital admisistrators game the system all the time on all sorts of admissions to get the most money; that is their job.

And, regarding private insurance, insurance companies hire lawyers and doctors to pick apart claims to find to find reasons they can breach their contracts. One of my family members works for a large hospital chain and for over five years had the job to fight Aetna, a "bad payer," to get claims paid. At least Medicare pays timely.

[Carla B]

Originally Posted by superzcomputerz

That’s funny, nobody I know and nobody that knows them know of anyone who has died or even had the virus, strange I tell ya!

I know of people who have had it and I don't know a lot of people.