I agree with that, I was imprecise, but you get the point.
People will be far less alarmed if a million people die over five years rather than a million die in six months, and it is the perception that is driving things.
I apologize, I tried to word my response in a way that made it implied that I understood you understood that. That is what the “everyone” was for. It is so hard to imply intent through a computer screen isn’t it! :-)