The Admission
It’s been two and a half years since the outbreak of COVID-19, and yet it seems that we’re still not entirely sure of the true death toll. Dr. Leana Wen, a CNN medical analyst and Washington Post columnist, recently admitted in a column that the medical community may be “overcounting” the number of “COVID deaths and hospitalizations.”
Wen cites sources claiming that most “patients diagnosed with COVID are actually in the hospital for some other illness.” She also mentions that many people with gunshot wounds or other serious illnesses often test positive for the virus, and if they die, COVID might get added to their death certificate, but the coronavirus was not the primary contributor to their death and often played no role at all.
This revelation has caused quite a stir, with many readers on Twitter complaining that it’s “two and a half years late.”
The Data
Wen began her column with some skepticism about the CDC’s latest COVID-19 death stats: “According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States is experiencing around 400 COVID deaths every day. At that rate, there would be nearly 150,000 deaths a year. But are these Americans dying from COVID or with COVID?”
She spoke to two Infectious-disease experts, who both believed “the number of deaths attributed to COVID is far greater than the actual number of people dying from COVID.” One expert, Robin Dretler, an attending physician at Emory Decatur Hospital and the former president of Georgia’s chapter of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, estimates that at his hospital, 90 percent of patients diagnosed with COVID are actually in the hospital for some other illness.
Dretler admitted that this contributed to “imprecise reporting” on COVID deaths and hospitalizations, which he added did not come from a place of “bad intent.” He denied that there was any “conspiracy” behind it to “exaggerate coronavirus numbers for some nefarious purpose.”
The Consequences
The admission of overcounting COVID deaths and hospitalizations has far-reaching consequences. For one, it undermines the public’s trust in the healthcare system and the government’s response to the pandemic. It also calls into question the effectiveness of lockdown measures and vaccine mandates.
But perhaps the most concerning aspect of this revelation is that it has come so late in the game. As many Twitter users pointed out, this information should have been made public months, if not years, ago. The medical community and government officials have had access to this information for a significant amount of time, yet they chose to withhold it from the public.
One can only imagine the damage this has caused to the public’s perception of the pandemic and their willingness to comply with measures put in place to combat it.
A Long History of Lies
This is not the first time that officials have been accused of manipulating data to further their own agenda. The public has become increasingly skeptical of government-provided information, and for good reason. The overcounting of COVID deaths and hospitalizations is just the latest example of officials prioritizing their own interests over the public’s right to know.
It’s clear that something needs to change. The public needs to have access to accurate and transparent information in order to make informed decisions. It’s time for the medical community and government officials to stop playing politics with people’s lives and start being upfront with the public.
It’s also worth noting that this admission of overcounting COVID deaths and hospitalizations has implications for the ongoing debate over vaccine mandates. If the actual number of COVID deaths is significantly lower than what has been reported, then the justification for mandating vaccines becomes less clear.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, Dr. Leana Wen’s admission of overcounting COVID deaths and hospitalizations is a wake-up call to the public that they cannot blindly trust the information they are being provided. The public has a right to know the truth, and it’s time for the medical community and government officials to start providing it. It’s time for transparency and accountability in reporting COVID-related statistics. The public needs to be able to make informed decisions based on accurate information, and the overcounting of COVID deaths and hospitalizations undermines that ability.
It’s time for the public to demand transparency and accountability from the medical community and government officials. The overcounting of COVID deaths and hospitalizations may have been unintentional, but it’s a mistake that has serious consequences. It’s time for those in power to take responsibility and start providing the public with the information they need to make informed decisions.
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