this is getting a lot of press, so let's talk about what it does and does not mean
it does NOT mean that only 6% of reported cov deaths are "real cov deaths"
it means that those without co-morbidities have very low chance of dying
it also means that almost no young people die
so, if you are young, healthy, and are not obese, hypertensive, diabetic, etc, you have almost zero death risk.
but if you are in a risk category, this rises.
saying "it's not a covid death" because you're diabetic is like saying "it's not lung cancer because you smoked."
so let's be a bit careful with that claim.
there is zero question that covid deaths are being dramatically over-counted by using the "death with" vs "death from" categorization.
my best estimate, they are probably reported as 2-3X real deaths from.
and this is making CFR and IFR look much too high, but it's not as overstated as "94% are not real".
we simply cannot make that claim from this CDC data.
but the idea that we need to dig through it with care and figure out what real "deaths from" was is an important one.
no other disease/pathology is counted this way, so apples to apples comparisons of IFR and CFR to other diseases are impossible until we do.
and this is going to take some doing because all the incentives are to over count cases and deaths.
hospitals, testing cos, etc all get more money when tests are positive and cases are confirmed. there is a river of public money flowing into this.
so everyone will respond to get some.
using PCR tests that are way too sensitive is a big money maker.
simple rule of economics: when you subsidize something, you get more of it, and whoo doggie have we subsidized covid cases and deaths.
there is no doubt they are over-counted and it's important that this fact be foregrounded.
but it's also important that we're honest and do not overstate it.
claims that this CDC data implies that only 6% of covid was "real" are simply not supportable.
so let's stay on the side of facts and proper conclusions here.
let's be the credible side.
