Who's going to Experience?

[alantig]

So that means half are younger than 80.

This really isn't about who's right or wrong about death percentages; it's simply to say that we all should be careful.

That would be if the median age was 80. Average can be skewed by a small number of extremes. But it’s likely that what you describe is still close to the truth.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

This.

Jamie and I are friends, and lord knows I enjoy his company, and think he is a bright guy. I'm sure he's an excellent podiatrist as well, or he wouldn't be as successful as he is.

But I agree with Black Plaid here; you have to base decisions on evidence; in this case, the data we have. and not the data we hope we will have later. There is insufficient data, to support any other conclusion that being as careful as one can be is necessary.

Infectious disease experts all over the world are saying this is different. My own physicians say it's different, and to be extra careful.

The more this spreads, the more vulnerable people will be likely to suffer and/or die. Why on earth should that be considered remotely OK? I don't think it is.

To say that the regular flu kills lots of people implies that's somehow OK, that's somehow acceptable. Yet my physicians insist I have flu vaccine every year, and I also got the pneumonia vaccine. I think they do that because they care whether I live or die.

Italy had 168 deaths today. A couple more people died in Washington. That's OK? That's not a big deal? That doesn't matter?

Heck knows the Black Plaid killed thousands!

Oops sorry Jamie (admin. that is, ok heck you’re both admin, I mean the one who had to step in and get the thread back on track!)

Anyhoo, who’s all going to Experience?!

 

[JMintzer]

The flu does not overwhelm the health care system every year.

People who have life threatening injuries unrelated will also die.

Here's a report from a Dr. in Italy about the situation, read the whole thread to see why being extremely concerned about it is warranted.

https://twitter.com/silviast9/status/1236933818654896129?s=21

This is not "the flu" - it's not even in the same viral family. People shrugging it off like it's no big deal is going to cause more people to die than is necessary.

Sure, most people will get it and recover, but not everyone, it's not even just 'at risk' groups who die from it. Those that need the extra care won't be able to get it because the system will be over capacity leading to a higher rate of death.

Protecting yourself is protecting others.

The average age of those who died in Italy is 81 years old...

Even Les isn't that old!

 

[JMintzer]

Seriously, as of today, the death rate is still 3.7% and that is where it stands. We can only go by what we know. Serious testing has been going on. The rate in Germany, the US, and other Western countries is the same.

Yes, it may go down. But you're guessing. I'm using known statistics. What would you bet your life on if you were diabetic and had heart disease, as so many folks our age do? Or, perhaps more to the point, what would you bet your kids' lives on if they were diabetic? Your wife's? Your patients?

I would hope you would be conservative and stick to what we know, as opposed to the unproven hope that things are really OK.

Anyone with reduced resistance to disease - I'm one of them - has to be more careful.

But I ask, Jamie, where did you find specific data proving that you're right?

And in the absence of that data, how do you make an informed decision for, say, your patients? Guesswork is OK? I highly disagree. I hope you're not telling patients what you told me.

If I had those co-morbidities, I wouldn't come. But I'd also be just as worried about contacting the seasonal flu...

But... The "known statistics" are skewed due to the very limited testing samples...

Hell, in. S. Korea, where they were getting hammered by the outbreaks, the death rate is now under 1%...

 

[JMintzer]

So that means half are younger than 80.

This really isn't about who's right or wrong about death percentages; it's simply to say that we all should be careful.

No, that would be the case if the "median" age was 81...

 

[JMintzer]

To be completely open, I also get the flu shot every year (I'm 62)...

But, I work in a hospital, which is a cesspool of creepy crawlies...

I pass on getting the pneumonia vaccine, because, other than slightly high BP, I have no other risk factors...

I did get the shingles vaccine update last Fall, and that hurt like a mother fuc*er!

All that said, it's up to everyone to make their own decisions. And I'll always respect those decisions...

Except for Les... He's a wimp...