False claims of social media in circulation-claims that “only 6%” of COVID-19 deaths reported in the United States are due solely to new media Coronavirus — A dangerously misleading infectious disease expert told Live Science.
This claim has been around since August 26 update Posted by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on the website, which provides detailed information on the associated health conditions (known as co-morbidities) and causes of death reported in people who died of the new US coronavirus. “For 6% of deaths, only COVID-19 is the only cause mentioned,” the CDC said.
That is, 6% of those who died of COVID-19 had no underlying illnesses such as diabetes, asthma, or heart disease and had no medical complications such as renal failure or sepsis. However, according to infectious disease experts, the remaining 94% of deaths were still due to COVID-19. This is because many chronic underlying disorders can lead to sudden death from illnesses that cannot be cured by other means, such as COVID-19.
Relation: 14 coronavirus myths destroyed by science
“It’s surprising to see the number of excess deaths this year compared to last year’s,” said William Hanage, a professor of epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health. That’s an estimated 228,200 deaths in the United States. According to the Weinberger Institute University of California San Francisco. Mr Hanage said many of the people who have died so far have had non-fatal illnesses and were not killed by the new coronavirus. For example, a person with diabetes or hypertension may have lived for decades without being infected with COVID-19. Dr William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Tennessee, repeated the same reality. “The point is that they never died unless they were carried away by COVID,” Schaffner told Live Science.
In addition, fatal medical complications can be a direct cause of death when the virus is actually the ultimate culprit, as evidenced by HIV/AIDS. is more than 32 million For example, people all over the world have died of HIV / AIDS so far, but usually the disease itself is not the direct cause of death. “It’s not HIV that kills you. HIV kills your immune system and makes you vulnerable to all kinds of infections and cancers,” said Dr. Shahnaz Azad, an infectious disease specialist in Olympiafields, Illinois, to Francis Canhealth. It was
For example, a death certificate might list the main cause of death as Kaposi’s sarcoma, but in fact, without being infected with HIV, we never had the rare type of cancer. Would be The HIV virus is still the ultimate killer.
This has not stopped the flood of misleading social media posts on this 6% statistic. These posts have led many to falsely believe that the number of deaths from the US coronavirus is much lower than previously reported. President Donald Trump, for example, Posts deleted from Twitter “This week, the CDC quietly updated Covid’s figures, confirming that of the 153,504 deaths recorded, only 6% actually died in Covid. The remaining 94% said I have a couple of serious illnesses and the overwhelming majority are very old.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, appeared on the TV program “Good Morning America” yesterday. cure Misunderstanding. “The numbers you’ve heard — over 180,000 dead — are real dead by COVID-19. Don’t be confused about that,” he said.
Relation: Coronavirus Outbreak: Live Update
Moreover, the fact that people with comorbidities are more likely to die of COVID-19 is not exactly reassuring. The majority of the US population is in a state of increased severity of COVID-19, including diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, and even obesity. According to CDCAbout 40% of all US adults over the age of 20 are obese. “Obviously many people have one of these things, or one of the very many others that would be included in that catchall term,” Hanage said. “And even if you don’t have comorbidities on your own, someone you love will almost certainly do.”
Prevalence of comorbidities was seen in the CDC update and died of COVID-19, although there were “2.6 additional conditions or causes of death” in people with other medical complications or underlying conditions. Said.
“The question is not whether COVID alone can cause serious illness or death. Of course, older people with chronic underlying illnesses (comorbidities) are more likely to have more serious illnesses.” They are prone to and often have fatal consequences, so most people dying from COVID have other causes of death as well.” The 6% cause of death without comorbidities is: In fact, “severe pneumonia caused by the virus is exacerbated by my immune and inflammatory reactions,” Schaffner explained.
Moreover, the CDC stats in question only talked about overall mortality, experts told Live Science. It is also important to remember other obstacles and long-term health problems that COVID-19 poses to those who survive the disease.
“Death is not the only important outcome,” said Dr. Eduard Franco, director of the Department of Cancer Epidemiology and chairman of the Department of Oncology, McGill University, Canada. “Hospitalization due to COVID-19 carries a considerable amount of pain and risk of long-term sequelae. Hospitalization reflects the severity of the infection. Moving to an ICU is an even more ominous sign of severity. is.”
If anything, this episode highlights how public health data should not be misinterpreted for political purposes, Franco said.
“The pandemic has become too political when it’s really just about dealing with basic things like public health sciences,” Franco told Live Science. “Some people try to downplay the problem by apparently misinterpreting statistics,” he added, “basic and simple precautions can prevent many deaths: often. A 1.8 m (6 ft) distance to wash your hands, wear a mask, sanitize and maintain surfaces that are frequently touched.The COVID-19 number should be kept low. Wait for the vaccine.. The viral surge only chokes the process and interferes with the health care of those who need it most. ”
Originally published in Live Science.
