It’s true that “1 in 5 Americans say they lost a loved one to COVID-19” is different that “1 in 5 American’s say they lost someone they know to COVID-19,” although the difference is subjective and qualifying the difference is beyond the scope of the survey. But the statement isn’t suggesting that 1 in 5 Americans have been lost to COVID-19.
A woman in my church group passed away from COVID last Friday. Her immediate family of seven would each say they have lost a loved one. Probably there are at least twenty other people in my church who would consider her close enough to call her a loved one. So that’s 27 people who might say they lost someone to COVID, but they’re all talking about the same person.
I think the point of the survey was to show how people report feeling impacted by the virus. But it’s all subjective, and in the end confusing if we try to draw actual numbers out of it. As with so much in the media, it’s all about feelings and not fact.
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2021/03/15/paralyzed-by-fear-johns-hopkins-doctor-notices-something-peculiar-about-the-cdc-n2586291
“About 1 in 600 Americans has died of Covid-19, which translates to a population fatality rate of about 0.15%.