Curated cornocopia of Covid comments

December 30, 2020. As a handy review of thoughts on the pandemic from this blog, here is a collection of comments and links to pandemic-related posts from the last nine months.

Some general observations (November).

Mortality rates are not what you think. In 2020, did American mortality rates exceed the expected mortality rate? The United Nations forecast was for a 0.009 mortality rate; the latest estimate of the actual 2020 figure 0.00939. Answer: Not by much, and probably within the standard error of the expected estimate.

The American population is growing and growing older even faster, with the elderly population increasing by 15 million in ten years. And millions of those Boomers bring a lot of health problems into their golden years. Do the Covid experts understand demographics?

Correlation, cause and effect (November). Pre-existing conditions (October). When the median age of Covid victims is as high as 85, and with an overwhelming percent of those deaths having pre-existing co-morbidities, is Covid a cause or a correlate of most deaths? Who is most at risk from dying with Covid? It has more to do with where you reside and how well you have taken care of yourself than anything else.

How do medical examiners decide if people die with Covid, or from Covid?

The progressive politicians, often from states and cities with high death counts from murder, not just Covid constantly claim that they ‘follow the science’ when they us the opinion of a scientist to determine policy. Isn’t it better to follow the science, not the scientist? Rather than listen to inconsistent scientists, in the face of consistent evidence to the contrary, politicians need a lesson in science. Per the old adage, figures don’t lie but liars figure. Follow the data and think for yourself, especially in determining what is an acceptable risk to you. Looking at Covid using a ‘climate scientist’ mentality (February) might be ruinous to your mental and physical well-being.

Undeserved elevation of epidemiologists (June, rev January). Not quite who the media would like you to think they are. Meanwhile, one real expert describes the political response to Covid as more of a hoax than a cure, prevention or solution. And there is a good case to be made (May) to distrust the ‘experts.’

Pandemic politics of fear. The pandemic is bad enough. Politicians seeking personal power made it much worse.

Lockdowns save few lives but are lethal to the service and hospitality sectors of the economy. The research is clear. Just look at Sweden.

Masks? The proof of their value is absent. At best, they are like condoms. They only work if used right and consistently.

Covid-19 versus the Spanish flu of 2018-20 (June, rev October): No comparison. Most Covid deathsare among those who have lived longer than they – or we -- ever had reason to expect. “The average age of the Spanish flu victim was 28, for Covid-19 it is about 85. The deaths per million of the two pandemics differ dramatically. As of October, there were just over a million Covid deaths worldwide, compared to twenty million in the 1918-20 pandemic, when the world population was a quarter of what it is today.”

Inconsistent scientists in the face of consistent evidence to the contrary. Nobody knows anything about nothing.

Did influenza disappear in 2020?

Bad science, bad writing means bad policy from bad politicians.

Everything you really need to know about combatting Covid you learned in kindergarten.