WHAT’S UP DOC? US COVID-19 Death Underestimated-Entertainment & Life-MetroWest Daily News

Q: Is COVID19 death overestimated? Are you more worried about the flu?

A: Simply put, the death of COVID 19 in the United States is actually underestimated. And yes, it’s a good time to think about the flu and get ready.

First, we will address the issue of the number of deaths due to COVID-19. There is a false alarm there that death is overrated, which is simply not true. How do you know this? Well, there are several ways, but the photos are worth a thousand words, so visit page 13 of www.gehccommandcenter.com/covidexcessdeaths20Aug2020 (https: // edited from data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Courtesy of the General Electric Healthcare Command Center: //data.cdc.gov/NCHS/Weekly-counts-of-deaths-by-jurisdiction-and-age-gr/y5bj-9g5w). This graph shows that the weekly deaths in the United States from 2015 to February 2019 are closely clustered. This means that it doesn’t fluctuate so much from year to year. Especially bad flu season. However, looking at the number of deaths in 2020 in the red, the chart continues to skyrocket in late March. This is the period when COVID 19’s death in the United States began.

Yes, death from COVID 19 is very realistic. So is it really underestimated? For this, you can see the data plotted by the Washington Post at https: //images.app.goo.gl/UZLEvo93CQkP8WQy8. Here, the same spikes seen in the graph above from late March to early April 2020 are plotted along with the number of deaths due to COVID-19. In addition to the deaths caused by COVID-19, we can see that there are more “excessive deaths” than expected based on the previous year. These were clearly COVID-19 deaths (direct or indirect) and were not “counted” as COVID-19 deaths because the death certificate did not list COVID-19 as the cause (COVID). Many of these are probably done to confirm it as the cause of death, as 19 tests were not done).

So what does this all have to do with the flu? Once again, look at the decline in deaths since January 2018 due to the flu. In addition to influenza deaths in addition to COVID-19 deaths, one infection can weaken the patient’s immune system and make them more susceptible to infections and complications from other infections. In addition, the healthcare system (including death, doctor consultation, emergency department visits, and hospitalization) has always been a problem during the influenza epidemic. I’m very worried about adding a COVID-19 case to this!

The average number of hospitalized patients in the United States in years when COVID is not 19 years is 200,000, and the number of deaths from influenza is 20,000 to 35,000. Symptoms of influenza are very similar to COVID-19, including fever, sore throat, cough, body pain, stuffy nose, stuffy nose, fatigue, headache, vomiting, and diarrhea (the mortality rate from COVID 19 is influenza). ). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the flu vaccine for everyone over 6 months of age, but less than half of the targeted Americans get the vaccine. We need to do better this year!

Same precautions to minimize the spread of COVID-19-social distance, wearing a mask, washing hands, staying home if suspected of being ill or exposed-minimizing the spread of influenza It also helps to limit it. In addition, this year’s flu vaccine is already available. And it is expected that the COVID-19 vaccine will soon be available, most realistically from late winter to early next spring. But we all need to be vaccinated against the flu right away!

The take-out message is as follows:

-Death by COVID 19 is real. Ignore political propaganda and look at the facts. The United States has been unsuccessful in dealing with pandemics, at least in part, because of this ridiculous political denial. Please stay socially away, wear a mask and wash your hands. If you are ill or suspected of being exposed, self-quarantine.

-Get the flu shot!

You can contact Jeff Hersh, Ph.D., MD, Dr Hersh @ juno.com