High Covid infection rate, low Covid death rate, strong economy with job growth

From the Saturday, April 10, 2021 Wall Street Journal:

Salt Lake City rose to the top thanks to fewer business shutdowns, more moderate health consequences from Covid-19 and a young and well-educated population that supported a tech sector that was already on fire before the pandemic began. Research from the University of Utah found that the state’s tech industry’s job growth averaged 3.6% a year between 2007 and 2017, more than double the national pace during the same period.

The region spanning the neighboring cities of Provo and Salt Lake City had so much momentum over the last decade that it acquired the nickname “Silicon Slopes.” Provo’s labor market ranked No. 17 last year among 328 smaller metro areas with fewer than 1 million residents, according to the Journal’s analysis. Another area north of Salt Lake City, Ogden, was No. 1 among the smaller metros.

How did Salt Lake City pull this off?

Utah was able to achieve that balance largely because of the resilience of its population. It ranked fourth among states for Covid-19 cases as a share of the population, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University, yet the state had among the fewest deaths per 1,000 residents through April 7. One possible factor in that result, according to Ms. Gochnour, was the area’s young population. Utah has the youngest median age of any state, according to the Census Bureau. Children and young adults die from Covid-19 at far lower rates.

If this does not make sense to you, read this earlier post to understand how such seemingly counterintuitive patterns of virus, death and the economy can emerge. Hint: Masks and lockdowns have little or no impact on 'Covid' death rates, but a significantly negative effect on the economy as well as the emotional and social well-being of the people locked down. 'Covid' deaths have more to do with age, BMI, urban living and a number of pre-existing co-morbidities, such as diabetes, dementia, chronic lung disease and high blood pressure.

For healthy, fit people under the age of 75, even after receiving a positive PCR Covid test, their likelihood of dying from Covid has been miniscule. Even for the fit, not obese elderly, survival rates have been very high. Mortality rates for those above the age of eighty have not increased under the pandemic, about 17% in the United States, which according to the actuarial tables of the Social Security Administration, is the 'normal' rate of death for those over the age of 80. The projected overall mortality rate for the United States in 2020 was 9 deaths per thousand. The actual overall rate was 8.9 deaths per thousand, or 0.89%.