Coronavirus

[Z Buck McFate]

A closer look at U.S. deaths due to COVID-19
By YANNI GU | November 27, 2020

Editor’s Note: After The News-Letter published this article on Nov. 22, it was brought to our attention that our coverage of Genevieve Briand’s presentation “COVID-19 Deaths: A Look at U.S. Data” has been used to support dangerous inaccuracies that minimize the impact of the pandemic. We decided on Nov. 26 to retract this article to stop the spread of misinformation, as we noted on social media.

Briand was quoted in the article as saying, “All of this points to no evidence that COVID-19 created any excess deaths. Total death numbers are not above normal death numbers.” This claim is incorrect and does not take into account the spike in raw death count from all causes compared to previous years. According to the CDC, there have been almost 300,000 excess deaths due to COVID-19. Additionally, Briand presented data of total U.S. deaths in comparison to COVID-19-related deaths as a proportion percentage, which trivializes the repercussions of the pandemic. This evidence does not disprove the severity of COVID-19; an increase in excess deaths is not represented in these proportionalities because they are offered as percentages, not raw numbers.

Where did you find this? I've got friends who posted this piece and it made me antsy for the forthcoming snopes rebuttal. (Or was this edited in the the actual piece?)

ETA: Nevermind, I googled the first paragraph and found it.

The site may have taken down that post, but that post is still available here. A friend of mine posted it to Fb just this afternoon.

 

[Jaguar]

Where did you find this? I've got friends who posted this piece and it made me antsy for the forthcoming snopes rebuttal. (Or was this edited in the the actual piece?)

ETA: Nevermind, I googled the first paragraph and found it.

The site may have taken down that post, but that post is still available here. A friend of mine posted it to Fb just this afternoon.

They stated they would still link to the original for reasons of transparency, I believe. The incessant posting of misleading information in this thread is getting old. Fast.

 

[highlander]

I don't know man...it was pretty clear to all of us that the following was true:



Are you sure you're not misremembering?

No you aren't misremembering. I still have my N95 mask that I wear that I got in early March. You can't get N95 masks unless you are a health care worker

 

[Z Buck McFate]

They stated they would still link to the original for reasons of transparency, I believe. The incessant posting of misleading information in this thread is getting old. Fast.

They left it available as a pdf, and that pdf has "retracted" written across it:

The link I'd posted leads to a page that appears to be the John Hopkins News-Letter but isn't (I think it's the Wayback page?); it gives the full article without any preface or mention of having been retracted.

 

[Mole]

We have had no new cases for a long time now, and no one in hospital. And our States keep cominng back with no new cases. And our Australian government is on track to make the whole Continent of Australia free of the corona virus.

Meanwhile in the land of the free, freedom has become narcissism, and freedom has become licence to spread the infection to thousands every day.

The contrast between our dutiful Queen, Elizabeth II, and our narcissistic President, is stark.

 

[FemMecha]

The NYTimes overview of the pandemic this morning mentioned this correlation:

"The relationship between confirmed new coronavirus cases and deaths has held fairly steady this fall. If you track the number of new cases, you can fairly accurately predict the number of deaths three weeks later. Every 100 new cases in the U.S. has led to an average of about 1.7 deaths, with that three-week lag."

They said over the Thanksgiving holiday there was less testing and reporting, so we may see a sharp uptake in number of deaths when all the reports come in, in addition to the increased numbers of infections that occurred during this time.

If it takes 5-14 days to get symptoms, and three weeks for death reports to be seen from those infections, then we can see the death toll 4-5 weeks after an event. Christmas week we will see what the death toll for Thanksgiving was. Gawd that is horrifically sad. A lot of people will find out their loved ones died around Christmas this year. January is going to be a month of collective grief in the U.S.

 

[Jaguar]

.
.

 

[ceecee]

Health care workers
Elderly and those with compromised immunity
Disproportionately impacted groups - black and brown and their communities

That's the order you start vaccinating.

 

[The Cat]

Health care workers
Elderly and those with compromised immunity
Disproportionately impacted groups - black and brown and their communities

That's the order you start vaccinating.

too bad that's not how it's gonna work...

 

[Red Herring]

Health care workers
Elderly and those with compromised immunity
Disproportionately impacted groups - black and brown and their communities

That's the order you start vaccinating.

Healthcare workers, the elderly and people with compromised immunity are probably uncontroversial. But I think handing out a vaccine during a pandemic on the basis of race is gonna be, ehm, problematic.

 

[Coriolis]

Healthcare workers, the elderly and people with compromised immunity are probably uncontroversial. But I think handing out a vaccine during a pandemic on the basis of race is gonna be, ehm, problematic.

Agreed. I would go next to people whose occupations or living arrangements prevent them from distancing, e.g. police, firefighters, teachers, social workers, members of military units or religious communities who must live in close proximity, etc.

 

[Virtual ghost]

It seems that yesterday was a day with record death (both globally and in the US).

 

[ceecee]

It seems that yesterday was a day with record death (both globally and in the US).

The 204,943 new cases topped the previous 11/20 record of 196,100 cases.

The 2,777 covid-related deaths also marked a new single-day record.

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

another co-worker got it

 

[ceecee]

Healthcare workers, the elderly and people with compromised immunity are probably uncontroversial. But I think handing out a vaccine during a pandemic on the basis of race is gonna be, ehm, problematic.

Right. I also think the prison population should also be getting vaccines before the general population does for the same reasons and due to proximity. But if people never say things like I'm saying (medical professionals also say this), the likelihood of them happening remains 0 forever.

Should Prisoners Get Covid-19 Vaccines Early? | The Marshall Project

 

[Vendrah]

Right. I also think the prison population should also be getting vaccines before the general population does for the same reasons and due to proximity. But if people never say things like I'm saying (medical professionals also say this), the likelihood of them happening remains 0 forever.

Should Prisoners Get Covid-19 Vaccines Early? | The Marshall Project

I am actually sort of conservative and republican in this aspect, I don't think killers and criminals should get vaccines earlier but the opposite (later), even if they are at a higher risk, I don't think its fair for the common citizen to have them to get it earlier.
But perhaps people on prison with 'soft' offenses or on preventive prison (has not finally judged and could be innocent) could receive the vaccine earlier, just them.

 

[ceecee]

I am actually sort of conservative and republican in this aspect, I don't think killers and criminals should get vaccines earlier but the opposite (later), even if they are at a higher risk, I don't think its fair for the common citizen to have them to get it earlier.
But perhaps people on prison with 'soft' offenses or on preventive prison (has not finally judged and could be innocent) could receive the vaccine earlier, just them.

This is all irrelevant to me, the virus has and will continue to spread unabated in prisons, just like it has in the US since the beginning and I'm sure it is in other countries. Especially prisoners over 65 - the vaccine should be give to them simply due to age. People in jail awaiting trial because they can't make bail for non-violent offenses shouldn't exist to begin with. Were they sentenced to death? No. Then don't kill them.

This idea of someone feeling they have a right to deem who is deserving of what and when should cease completely. All that means tested bullshit neolibs and Dems especially love has contributed to the pandemic greatly.

The whole - I don't think it's fair to the common citizen - goes out the window because there is no complaint as to front line heath care or nursing home residents getting it first. A conservative view is fine but it goes no further than you. It has no place in government policy when dealing with an illness that's killing people daily. And perhaps not treating prison populations like animals then wondering why all the violence when they are unleashed back into society - might be something to ponder.

 

[Red Herring]

Right. I also think the prison population should also be getting vaccines before the general population does for the same reasons and due to proximity. But if people never say things like I'm saying (medical professionals also say this), the likelihood of them happening remains 0 forever.

Should Prisoners Get Covid-19 Vaccines Early? | The Marshall Project

Honest question: are POC hit harder by the pandemic because of a genetic predisposition or because their living conditions are worse and their access to healthcare is more limited? What's the latest research? If it's the living conditions (which I am assuming for the time being) maybe first vaccinating people working in high contact jobs or in close quater housing might be an option.

 

[Red Memories]

Honest question: are POC hit harder by the pandemic because of a genetic predisposition or because their living conditions are worse and their access to healthcare is more limited? What's the latest research? If it's the living conditions (which I am assuming for the time being) maybe first vaccinating people working in high contact jobs or in close quater housing might be an option.

Usually, at least from my knowledge, it is more to do with the poor living conditions and the fact they are often employed in high contact jobs and do not have readily preventable healthcare. There's also other predispositions created by being poorer like poor diets so being more prone to certain illnesses and etc. Sad state of affairs.

 

[ceecee]

Honest question: are POC hit harder by the pandemic because of a genetic predisposition or because their living conditions are worse and their access to healthcare is more limited? What's the latest research? If it's the living conditions (which I am assuming for the time being) maybe first vaccinating people working in high contact jobs or in close quater housing might be an option.

I have not been able to find a definitive answer to that. Alaskan natives and non Hispanic native American are even higher than black persons as far as cases and hospitalizations. Are race and ethnicity risk markers? The CDC says so but the living conditions for these other groups are also often poor.