The U.S. is the most traveled country on the planet, both domestically and internationally. Our vibrant economy and standard of living were direct contributors to the spread because of our ability to travel, eat out, etc. Plus, Americans tend not to be very good rules followers. Even today, with all the recommendations that have been made on mask wearing, millions don't wear them. You can try to make this political, but the simple fact is that the problem is us.

Why does the US have on 2% exposed after 6 months or more? Was it because we locked down? Some doctors I've heard say this would only delay herd immunity and it sounds feasible at this point.

The virus
 

You said it plain that they had the virus. Many of us over our lifetime have had heart issues , stroke and some diabetes, and if you get Covid 19 it makes you vulnerable and you could likely die. Wear a mask, social distance and wash your hands. If we all did that from March-April many lives would have been saved. It’s science pure and simple.

I agree. We travel too much, fly too much, use up resources. And we live in a democracy that perhaps allowed too much freedom of expression and ignorance to the problem. I am a retired physician and thought it was crazy when the CDC wasn't saying wear masks at the start. Most but still not enough Villagers are acting safely but it's pretty easy to walk and play golf and not work.

There is no documented proof that hospitals, as a whole, are reporting all deaths being associated with Covid-19. Maybe some, but they would be in the minority. Yes, people have other critical diseases but if COVID-19 exasperates the condition which ultimately causes the death, then the death is caused by COVID-19. In other words, if the person did not contact COVID-19, they wouldn’t have died at this time.

Die of covid or with covid and you still are dead. If you get pneumonia and already have heart problems, the pneumonia may push you over the edge.
What killed you? Would the person have lived longer if they didn't get pneumonia?
200000 deaths.
Glad no one close to you died.

Hard to say either way.
But.
They did die because of it.
200,000 of them!

If you are trying to make a comment about Covid 19, then saying they died of Covid 19 When in fact they did have the Virus, then they are reporting it correctly. Having heart disease, diabetes, stroke, etc. would not have been The probable cause of death, Covid 19 would be the correct reporting.

Could it be because we are a much more developed country and have the means to travel and we depend on commerce much more than those in 3rd world countries that rarely leave their homes and villages? All developed countries are doing worse than the undeveloped. Perfectly understandable but still sad.

You are lucky
 

Well, then you are very lucky. Many of us do know of those who have had Covid as well as those who have passed away from Covid. Very disturbing the insensitivity of some of the remarks on this thread bashing the numbers being reported as a selfish reason to minimize the impact of this terrible pandemic. Those who have lost a loved one to this know it IS real and feel their loss in immeasurable ways.

If not for Covid-19 those people would still be alive. Covid-19 is new to all humans and makes them sick or not depending on their bodies defenses. Older people, even if they had no "health issues" (which would be almost impossible) are the most vulnerable and people who live in The Villages would be at risk in varying degrees due to age.

I don't understand this kind of rationale. All of those flags you saw stuck in the ground on last night's news in Washington on the mall, all 200,000 of those flags represent people who would be alive. They did die of Covid-19.

Can't fix stupid
 

It's very unfortunate but you just can't fix stupid. It's a fact. Seems the majority of the deaths were caused by individuals who just can't think for themselves in a smart way and ended up killing family members. Sad.

Correct.
....and 200,000 deaths were because of Covid.

96 percent would still be alive had they not had COVID-19. I too have four Doctors I’m close with and all have confirmed that hospitals DONT get paid more for a positive COVID death. Really amazing people believe politicians over science. The latest one I heard was mask don’t work. That’s why Doctors and nurses wear them every day. Twenty six years USAF and I thought During times of crisis we’re supposed to join together and generally care about fellow Americans. We pick politics over family, over country, over neighbors. We’re okay with lies and dishonest politicians as long as it serves our purpose. We should demand better from our leaders and if we don’t get it we vote them out. Leaders are supposed to unite us not divide us. Divided we will fall!

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. :1rotfl: