September 19, 2020
Saturday AM

Put it in perspective.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are about 2.8 million deaths per year in the United States.  That is circa 7,700 per day.  The COVID-19 death rate is now around 500 per day.  So far the US death rate has been over twice that but has improved recently to average about 500/day.  94% of all COVID deaths involved comorbidity conditions.  How many patients succumbing to COVID would have died from any other cause in the present year is probably a question that will be answered by some statistical analysis after the end of the year.  U.S. statistics to follow:

About 650,000 heart attack deaths per year occur in the U.S.  That is 1,780 deaths per day!

Cancer of all types is responsible for about 600,000 deaths per year in the U.S.   That is over 1,600 deaths per day!

Unintentional injuries cause about 170,000 deaths per year in the U.S.   That is 465 deaths per day!

Chronic lower respiratory disease contributes to about 160,000 deaths per year in the U.S. That is 438 deaths per day!

Stroke and cerebrovascular diseases cause about 146,000 deaths per year in the U.S.   That is about 400 deaths per day.

Alzheimer’s disease is responsible for about 120,000 deaths per year.   That is about 328 deaths per day.

Diabetes claims about 83,000 lives per year.   That is about 227 deaths per day in the U.S.

Influenza and pneumonia is responsible for about 55,000 deaths per year.   That is about 150 deaths per day in the U.S.

Kidney disease is the cause of about 50,000 deaths per year.   That is about 136 deaths per day in the U.S.

Suicide takes the lives of about 47,000 people per year.   That is about 128 lives lost every day to suicide in the U.S.

That leaves us with over 2,000 deaths per every day attributed to “other reasons”.......... perhaps old age? Sshark attacks? AIDS?

Daily COVID deaths are now about 1/4 that of “other reasons”, less than 1/3 of heart attack deaths, less than 1/3 of cancer deaths and about on par with each of several categories such as ACCIDENTS, RESPIRATORY DISEASE, STROKE & ALZHEIMER’S.

Perspective should always be an element of observation.

Rob Holston
Ketchikan, Alaska

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The text of this letter was NOT edited by the SitNews Editor.

Received September 10, 2020 - Published September 19, 2020, 2020

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