I think you’re right about the incentives, but the 25% number were Excess Deaths. EDs of ALL CAUSES.
25% more people of that age group died of all causes. The official Covid number was 20% higher.
Yup, some were from people who didn’t see the doctor enough. That’s part of the difference between 25 and 20, but more of that difference is the old folks who got Covid, had read that most recover from it, stayed home, died during the night (often alone) and the body was found a week later.
That’s a death and won’t be labeled Covid because it won’t be tested. So . . . undercount of Covid offsetting the economic incentive to overcount.
We had one death in our extended family in 2020.
He had a heart attack and went into the hospital. Then he tested positive for Covid.
He died there—official cause of death Covid.
That is one reason I am _very_ skeptical of the numbers on this.