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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFascinating article about annual flu deaths (Spoiler: They are estimates)
We keep hearing about how the flu kills 40,000 to 60,000 per year. But what I didn't know, and I imagine most people don't know is those are calculated estimates. Right now we're counting COVID-19 deaths when they are confirmed cases of the disease. But if we did the same thing with the flu death count...
Now there's legitimate reasons for doing it this way, as many flu deaths get missed by the system. But the figures show the same thing is happening with COVID-19. So we've been comparing apples to oranges--an estimate (flu deaths) to a non-estimate (COVID-19)!
Great article here. I highly recommend it!
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/comparing-covid-19-deaths-to-flu-deaths-is-like-comparing-apples-to-oranges/
Bernardo de La Paz
(49,047 posts)DrToast
(6,414 posts).... its not, but lets assume it is. Were still incorrectly comparing that figure to as projection of flu deaths. 🍎s to 🍊s big time!
mr_lebowski
(33,643 posts)Bernardo de La Paz
(49,047 posts)Florida medical examiners were releasing coronavirus death data. The state made them stop.
When the medical examiners list was available, it showed more deaths than the states count.
https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2020/04/29/florida-medical-examiners-were-releasing-coronavirus-death-data-the-state-made-them-stop/
Related: Floridas count of coronavirus deaths is missing some cases
Theyve now been withholding it for nine days, without providing any of the information or specifying what they plan to remove. Dr. Stephen Nelson, the chairman of the state Medical Examiners Commission, said the change in policy came after the state health department intervened.
The medical examiners list does not include names. But it provides demographic information, probable cause of death and case summaries with information about each persons medical and travel history.
Nelson who is also the medical examiner for Polk, Highlands and Hardee counties said state officials told him they plan to remove causes of death and case descriptions. Without that information, the list is meaningless, he said.
malaise
(269,219 posts)Get thee to the greatest page
Squinch
(51,049 posts)Their numbers are wild guesses, and we are now seeing what 60,000 deaths in a season REALLY look like.
BGBD
(3,282 posts)is that flu season is spread out from October to April. We're seeing what one month of 60k deaths is, not five months of 60k deaths. Plus, 60k deaths would be a pretty bad flu season.
Squinch
(51,049 posts)reports ridiculous ranges like, "there were between 16,000 and 60,000 flu deaths this season" knowing that there were nowhere near 60000 deaths, and also knowing that the media will always report the highest number of their wild guess. A wild guess that is not based at all on information about flu, because flu deaths are simply not reported in most states. The wild guess is based instead on deaths from all respiratory causes, most of which have nothing to do with the flu.
Ms. Toad
(34,117 posts)So they are counting more than confirmed cases. They are also counting people based on epidemiology + symptoms + no other explanation. There have been thousands of deaths reclassified (which also bumps up the case count).
So there's not as much difference as there used to be in counting the deaths.
DrToast
(6,414 posts)I just had no idea the flu figures were estimates though.
Response to DrToast (Original post)
Squinch This message was self-deleted by its author.