Experts dispute the alleged exaggeration of COVID-19 mortality – St. George News

ST. George — Local, state, and national leaders in both the medical and government sectors said Thursday that statistics released last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that fewer people were killed by the coronavirus than previously stated. He said it was misinterpreted.

David Heaton, a spokeswoman for the Southwestern Utah Department of Public Health, said the new information did not mean that large numbers did not die of the coronavirus. Rather, it means that many people were in a fundamental condition that led to viral death.

“From the beginning we talked about the fact that almost every death had an underlying illness, but (the Utah Department of Health) asked us about how COVID deaths could be determined on our website for several months. It shows percentages and explanations, which are intended to protect people at high risk,” said Heaton.

The Utah Department of Health’s Coronavirus website defines what counts as dead:

Deaths reported by UDOH include confirmed and probable cases as defined by the State Council and territorial epidemiologist case definitions. These are 1) confirmed cases with positive COVID-19 PCR results and not listed on the death certificate or other cause of death reported by the office, 2) COVID on the death certificate -19 disease or SARS-CoV-2 is a serious condition that contributes to or contributes to death, and there is no alternative cause of death reported by OME. 3) Number of deaths reported by OME or death certificate with COVID-19 symptoms, close contact with laboratory confirmed cases, and no other cause. Mortality is provisional and subject to change once the survey is complete.

The Utah Department of Health announced Thursday that 414 people were killed by the coronavirus across the state. The first case was reported in the state Nearly half a year ago.

According to the Southwest Utah Department of Public Health, 27 deaths have occurred in southern Utah, but mortality rates have fallen significantly regionally last month. There were 3 deaths in the local 5 county area in August compared to 13 in July, and only one death since August 11.

of Statistics released on the CDC website “Comorbidity”, or when a patient has multiple chronic diseases or conditions. For example, a person who has died of a heart attack may also have diabetes. While they had diabetes, it was not the main reason for the death of the person over the blockage of the patient’s arteries.

Of the 186,693 Americans who died of coronavirus after February, the CDC said only 6% had no other comorbidities or additional conditions, according to John Hopkins University.

This means that not only 6% actually died of COVID-19, but 6% had no other medical condition. Since the beginning of the pandemic, health professionals have asserted that the worst effects of COVID-19 are the most likely to occur.

However, some people interpret that only 6% of those who were statistically described as having died of coronavirus actually died. In many social media messages, the virus actually dies only about 9,000 people nationwide.

President Donald Trump retweeted Sunday, from some of the QAnon movement, saying that the CDC showed that only 6% of the country’s death toll from coronaviruses was actually due to COVID-19. Twitter deleted the post in accordance with the rules for the spread of “harmful and misleading information related to COVID-19”.

At a press conference at the State Capitol in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Governor Gary Herbert spoke to claims that the death toll was exaggerated.

“There are rumors that we’re mislabeling death, as there is a plot,” Herbert said. “Some people looked at the data and saw something that didn’t mean. We know that people who don’t trust the government tried to see something with these numbers. , It’s more deadly than traditional flu.”

CDC 353 people in Utah died of flu In the 12 months of 2018, less than 414 COVID-19s died in half the time in the entire state.

However, compared to other parts of the United States, Utah and Southern Utah are de facto oasis because they are one of the states with the lowest coronavirus mortality rates in the state.

For example, Clark County, Nevada, one hour drive south of Utah, died of the coronavirus on Wednesday 23rd and died in Washington County in six months.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told ABC TV’s “Good Morning America” ​​that he would like to clarify that the CDC comorbidity statistic does not reduce the number of deaths from the virus.

“It doesn’t mean that people with high blood pressure or diabetes who died of COVID didn’t die of COVID-19. Fauch said on a TV show.” So the numbers you heard are over 180,000 dead. Is the actual death toll from COVID-19. Don’t be confused.”

Dr. Angeladan, a state epidemiologist at the Utah Department of Health, repeatedly claimed that the state did not agree with another CDC guidance last week, and none have been exposed to other viruses or symptoms.

“A lot of attention was paid to the CDC announcement last week. We encourage people without symptoms to continue to be tested,” Dunn said.

But Dunn said health agencies are credible between recent guidance from the CDC and some politicians’ claims that the CDC is making decisions decided by the White House. He said he was still thinking.

“I still have a lot of confidence in CDC, even the expertise of the CDC staff,” said Dunn.

Utah’s Positive Moon

In southern Utah and the state as a whole, health authorities had a positive month when it came to the incidence of hospitalizations, deaths, and new cases associated with coronaviruses.

“We did a very good job. It’s easy to brag and we don’t remain humble about this,” Herbert said. “But that doesn’t mean you’re still outside the forest.”

On Thursday, Salt Lake County became the last state to transition from an orange risk level to yellow.

Although the curve does not flatten completely, the increasing trend of new cases in southern Utah, which appeared to have surged in July, slowed in August. Health officials say that there are many people on the market that improve social distances, more people who wear face covers when they cannot, and many private stores and markets that have mandatory mask policies in place. thinking about.

South Utah Public Health Department statistics show that in southern Utah, an average of 32.7 new coronavirus infections per day for 7 days is 20.3.

But the most dramatic change is hospitalization, and there is no longer a story that Dixie Regional Medical Centers are approaching capacity.

DRMC parent Intermountain Healthcare, as well as Cedar City Hospital and Garfield Memorial Hospital, showed last week’s Facebook presentation that there was a significant drop in COVID-19-related hospitalizations last month, showing a downward graph. .. curve.

“The situation has changed a lot over the past month,” said Albert Martinez, Chief Analyst at Intermountain. “Our hospital has fewer COVID patients who need that advanced care.”

However, there are some non-positive signs starting that month. The percentage of tests that returned to positive increased from 8.7% last week to 9.4%. It’s unclear what caused the increase, but he said it wasn’t a school reopening and had no apparent impact on the number of states.

At the end of last week, local hospitalizations from people infected with coronaviruses were double-digit for the first time in almost a month.

And, if anything is missing in August, it’s the big holiday weekends that have triggered new spikes in the past. That changed from Labor Day holidays this weekend, and the Governor called me a word.

“This is the last opportunity to go out and enjoy the summer. We just want you to be careful,” Herbert said. “Don’t be stupid. I don’t want to jump.”

COVID-19 Information Resource

St. George News has made every effort to ensure that the information in this article is accurate at the time of writing. However, some of the data may have changed as the situation and science surrounding the coronavirus continue to evolve.

Check the resources below for the latest information and resources.

Number of coronaviruses in southern Utah (7 days average in parentheses as of September 3, 2020)

Positive COVID-19 test: 3,664 (20.3 new infections per day in 7 days, increase)

• Washington County: 2,860 (15.1 per day, up)
• Iron County: 660 (4.9 per day, up)
• Kane County: 65 (0.1 per day, steady)
• Garfield County: 46 (0 per day, steady)
• Beaver County: 33 (0 per day, stable)

Dead (number: 27 (0 per day, falling)

• Washington County: 22
• Iron County: 2
• Garfield County: 2
• Kane County: 1

Hospitalization: 8 (increase)

recovery: 3,286

Current 7 Day Average for Utah: 394 (rise)

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