As of Jan. 19 there were close to 24 million cases of Covid-19 reported in the country with close to 400,000 deaths. There are some estimates that the actual number may be as much as six times that. In Massachusetts, there were more than 450,000 cases with over 13,000 deaths reported. Just in Bedford itself, we have had 675 cases with 52 deaths reported. All these are really scary numbers, but for the most part, they’re abstract. There is nothing that makes a crisis real to people more than when it affects a person personally.
We’re curious as to how many people have personally been affected by Covid-19. For this poll, we’re not asking about economic or other hardships. We’re just asking if you personally know people who have contracted the disease.
Click this link to participate: POLL – January 19, 2021
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A question…the author of this piece wrote, “As of Jan. 19 there were close to 24 million cases of Covid-19 reported in the country with close to 400,000 deaths. The actual number may be as much as six times that”. What is the source of the author’s claim that the actual number of Covid-19 related deaths in our country may be 2.4 million? That number would account for almost all deaths in a year’s time in the US. It doesn’t seem accurate, so just wondering the source information – thanks.
There are numerous reports that the actual number of Coronavirus cases are greatly under counted.
Actual COVID-19 Cases Could Be 6 Times Greater Than Official Figures Science alert – November 19, 2020
Actual Covid-19 case count could be 6 to 24 times higher than official estimates, CDC study shows Stat News – July 21, 2020
Although the number of deaths are most likely undercounted as well, I was referring to the positive cases of Coronavirus cases being reported potentially 6 times as many, not the death count. Sorry for the ambiguity
Thank you for the clarification and your source material. But in your reply to me here, you’ve made another statement without sourcing – “the number of deaths are most likely undercounted as well”. “Most likely” according to who? I would argue that the number of death is more likely to be an inflated number, not an undercounted one. Many news outlets have reported that throughout this pandemic, there are many questions surrounding deaths being attributed to Covid. In some areas, if a person dies and has been diagnosed with Covid, they are considered a Covid death, when in reality, they had a heart attack, or some other factor that was actually the cause of death. “Most likely” seems an irresponsible assertion to me, especially without sources. Thank you for listening and for your work in our community. Blessings to you.
First of all, thank you. It is always nice to know people are reading what you write. Again, forgive me for not citing more statistics to support my assumptions. I would argue that if there are six times as many cases, it’s a fair assumption that there would be more deaths associated with those undercounted cases. A quick search finds many citations that support the assumption:
US COVID Deaths May Be Undercounted by 36 Percent.
BU School of Public Health – Dec 18, 2020
Amid pandemic, U.S. has seen 300,000 ‘excess deaths,’ with highest rates among people of color
Stat News – Oct 20, 2020
Defining the cause of death is a bit tricky and something I defer to the experts. You gave the example of a patient with COVID dying of a heart attack may or may not be attributed to COVID. You could make the same argument of a lung cancer patient who dies of pneumonia: should that be listed as a cancer death or pneumonia? That determination is best left to the medical professionals.
How the death count from COVID is quantified involves a statistic the CDC uses called “excess deaths.” Excess Deaths Associated with COVID-19 CDC Website. In a nutshell, they look at historical statistics of death rates and if they are out of the norm, they look for causes that may explain the discrepancies.
Again, thank you for your feedback. Keep reading!
My nephews wife is a physician on Riker’s Island and caught it from patients she treated there. She gave it to her husband and child. They all recovered.
I, also, chatted with the butcher at Stop & Shop in Bedford, who told me he had been out for about a month with Covid-19, hospitalized and very sick for part of it.
I know a woman in Bedford well whose son and daughter-in-law, who live on the same property both had it. I’ve met them but don’t really know them.