Posted on 04/11/2020 5:42:06 AM PDT by Kaslin
If our goal is to maximize collective lifespan -- which it should be -- then our models need to account for all lives, not just the ones we save today, but the ones our policies may cause to die tomorrow.
First, some cold facts and context.
The CDC estimates that more than 60,000 Americans died of the flu two years ago. The vast majority -- 83% -- were seniors, but more than 1% -- 643 -- were kids. It also estimates there were more than 800,000 flu-related hospitalizations.
Let's be honest: none of these numbers ever concerned you. You likely didn't know them. They received little news coverage at the time. They certainly did not keep you up at night or make you think twice about sending your kids to school, let alone cause you to lose your job or be quarantined.
They were, basically, a non-event. 60,000 contiguous deaths. Yawn.
Turning to today's pandemic, our latest figures state there have been 17,000 deaths, a fraction of the forgotten 60,000 flu deaths. We also are approaching 500,000 confirmed corona cases (and rising fast). Experts tell us that 20% of these corona carriers will require hospitalization, meaning there have been about 100,000 corona hospitalizations, a small fraction of the 800,000 flu hospitalizations. (Note: The real hospitalization rate for corona is likely much lower that 20% for two reasons: (1) many carriers are asymptomatic, and (2) testing has been relatively minimal).
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
The problem with acceding to “writing off” grandma is that grandma is also the dear wife. An inclination on hubby’s part to take his chances has to factor in the impact on her - especially if she’s immunocompromised.And when “grandma” is gone, her daughter suddenly becomes, psychologically, “grandma.” There’s then nobody between her, psych wise, and the Grim Reaper.
Where was all this angst in 2009?!
Oh, that’s right. That epidemic was mostly croaking kids, not nanny state voters.
Why did you write off grandma dying from the flu all these years?
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