The Barbershop: Dennis Byrne, Proprietor

Huge drop in the rate of COVID-19 deaths

I interrupt the constant flow of bad news to bring you some really, really great news:

The rate of COVID-19 deaths in the United States has plunged.

Take a look at the above chart. Beginning toward the end of January and the beginning of February, the rate rate per one million population plummeted.

Really, is it possible that the rate could have fallen by one-third in just a month? This looks unprecedented. Perhaps someone with more command of statistics could check it out.

Check this out also: By my calculation, that means the death rate per 1 million people is 0.0045 percent! Or a survival rate of more than 99 percent.

Maybe someone can explain it. Maybe it’s just hiccup and the rate will rise again.

This is not to ignore the other ways to measure the seriousness of the pandemic–new infection rate, hospitalizations, recoveries, ICU admissions and so forth. Nor is it meant to diminish the justifiable fear of the disease, the pain and suffering of its victims and the anguish of family members.

Yet, it’s something to keep in mind when you get flooded with all the bad news.

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www.dennisbyrne.net

My historical novel: Madness: The War of 1812

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Filed under:
Health

Tags:
COVID-19, death rate