Inaccurate News Reports foster COVID-19 Scare
- This topic is empty.
-
Posts
-
-
The reporting of news and latest information about our surrounding world should be based on accurate, transparent, responsible, and thoughtful questioning of such news or stories. When the news media presents complex and multi-faceted reports without any serious questions or intelligent analysis, it is disservice on their part to propagate such news. The most recent crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic that is receiving worldwide media coverage is grand exercise in creating fear, anxiety, and incomplete or inaccurate information that propagates falsehoods disguised as believable news.
Let’s start of with some basics or unreported facts of COVID-19. We receive news about number of COVID-19 cases per day in each state in U.S.A. or over-all in U.S.A. or even countries worldwide. For example, there is increasing numbers of COVID-19(+) or positive individuals in many states or overall in U.S.A. However, as explained here before, most labs in U.S.A. and many labs abroad use excessive PCR cycling times (Ct greater than 35) that lead to high number of “false positive rates.” Also, most or majority of COVID-19(+) people are asymptomatic or suffer from mild symptoms if they become infected with COVID-19. A high COVID-19(+) rates does not automatically mean serious hospitalizations or death.
In the U.S.A., forty six (46) states have instituted mandates for wearing face masks or coverings in public and yet public health agencies and the government reports increasing COVID-19(+) cases, greater number of hospitalizations, and deaths (of course attributed to COVID-19). Hence, why is COVID-19(+) increasing when face masking is public policy along with physical distancing, quarantines and restrictions of movements (partial lockdowns)? Well, the answer is simple and masked (pardon this pun) since face coverings do not promote decreased COVID-19 prevalance in the general population or at risk groups, too. The government can not control this virus through idiotic public policies, but only through intelligently-designed strategies. More on the face masks’ effectiveness in another topic here. Or if you have valid data with good science, do share it here for discussion.
Contrary to reality, the news media portrays that increasing COVID-19(+) leads to increasing hospitalization and death rate. In fact, overall infection fatality rate (IFR) of COVID-19 in the general population is about 0.1% to 0.5% in most countries.¹ Most Western countries report a COVID lethality (IFR) of about 0.3% in the general population (excluding nursing homes). Countries with different demographics like India (more younger population) has IFR of 0.1% ², while Africa experiences 0.01% IFR. In many countries, deaths in care homes account for 30 to 60% of all additional deaths. In Canada and some US states, nursing and care homes account for up to 80% of all “COVID-19-related” deaths. In Sweden, deaths in nursing homes plus nursing apartments account for 75% of all deaths.
Additionally, the actual hospitalization rate for COVID-19 based on population-based antibody studies are around 1% that is line with hospitalization rates for influenza (1-2%) in typical flu season. Based on several global and regional studies, COVID-19 infection per se does not exhibit greater hospitalization rate than influenza, pneumonia or other influenza-like illnesses. Hence, both the dire hospitalizations and death rate for COVID-19 are exaggerated since the news media presents only half of the story or false narratives.
One of the fallacies with death rates in this COVID-19 pandemic is what the percentage or actual death rate caused by COVID-19 infections goes unreported in most media reports. A major oversight is that whether people die due to some other cause despite definitive COVID-19(+) status (as determined by at least two verifiable tests) or actually die due to COVID-19 infections and their subsequent infection events. Many post-mortem autopsies reveal that some other medical condition that pre-existed or person’s underlying medical condition(s) was likely cause of death and not COVID-19(+) status. The official reports in news media or those death numbers released by public health agencies do not make this distinction.
It is well known that most patients with COVID-19 infections who require hospitalizations, I.C.U. admissions, and even succumb to death are those over age 65-70 years old with one or more serious underlying medical conditions like hypertension, cardio-vascular disease, history of heart disease, chronic diabetes, obesity, auto-immune disorders, kidney disease, liver malfunctions, or underlying cancer. Generally speaking, the median age of death in COVID-19 (+) is over 80 years. Also, it is reported that only ~1% of decreased have no serious underlying medical conditions.³ Hence, the death numbers and death rates attributed to COVID-19 are misleading since these numbers include “natural mortality” death numbers and rate that include people who are going to die due to increasing age and complications of their existing medical diseases.
The case for lockdown and public health measures (like social distancing, wear masks in public setting, no schools, etc.) is contrary to how seasonal flu is handled in U.S.A. and around the world. In typical flu season in U.S.A., influenza-related death alone are ~20,000-50,000 per year with mostly young children and elderly accounting for most of the deaths. Thus far in this COVID-19 pandemic or aptly called panicremic, it is reported that 50% to 80% of COVID-19(+) individuals remain symptom-free.4 Furthermore, it was shown in the 70 to 79 year old age group about 60% remain symptom-free, many more show only mild symptoms.5
As mentioned above, COVID-19(+) positivity rate is suspect in itself since the RT-PCR being used in U.S.A. and around the world has not undergone rigorous clinical certification process and validation, non-standard PCR methodologies are being used to identify COVID-19(+) test results, and the current test can not differentiate viral particles (capable of infecting humans) from degraded (remnants of viral genome) or non-functional virus particles. Another relevant point is the asymptomatic individuals who are COVID-19(+) and hence deemed as carriers or spreaders may not be infectious at all since their COVID-19(+) can stem from positive PCR test result of small degraded or non-functional viral genome or genes. In other words, their body’s immune system was able to neutralize the COVID-19 virus before it took foothold in their upper respiratory system or GI tract and caused any symptoms. Moreover, a non-infectious person despite having COVID-19(+) status can not pass on COVID-19 to another person since he or she would be transmitting non-functional or inactive COVID-19 (or SARS-CoV2) virus. So the next time you hear COVID-19 positivity rates going up, take it with grain of salt!
Well, this topic will end here since few other points about COVID-19 pandemic are better suited for other topics later. Be vigilante for false information, learn to delve into details of these reports, and just don’t blindly trust your government, news media, and public health agencies without proper questions and knowing the complete facts.
1.https://www.who.int/bulletin/online_first/BLT.20.265892.pdf
4. https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1375
5. https://www.niid.go.jp/niid/en/2019-ncov-e/9407-covid-dp-fe-01.html
-
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.