We keep hearing from the mainstream/legacy media that the death count from the SARS-CoV-2 virus keeps rising, a narrative that we have now been exposed to for the past 18 months, however, what we rarely hear about is the data behind the "death data". Thanks to an updated recent study by Swiss Policy Research (SPR) we know have some of the data which will help us put the pandemic deaths into perspective.
Let's start with a definition. The term median is defined as:
"...the middle number in a sorted, ascending or descending, list of numbers and can be more descriptive of that data set than the average."
The median is calculated as follows:
1.) Arrange the data in numerical order (i.e. age of death).
2.) Count how many numbers you have.
3.) If you have an odd number, divide by 2 and round up to get the position of the median number.
4.) If you have an even number, divide by 2.
In other words, the median divides a list of numbers into a lower half and an upper half. In the case of this posting, the median divides the ages of those who died with COVID-19 into a younger half and an older half.
Here is a table from SPR showing the median age of COVID-19 deaths for a number of advanced and advancing economy nations:
In some cases the median age of death from COVID-19 exceeds the median age of death from all causes. As well, if you access the report from the SPR website, you will note that the table has links to the sources of the median age data for each nation. As well, it is important to note that in many nations, up to 90 percent of COVID-19 deaths are among people aged 70 years and older.
Lastly, here is a bar graph showing the percentage of deaths among residents in care homes to February 2021:
As you can see, in several nations, the percentage of the nation's COVID-19 deaths among residents in care homes is in excess of 60 percent.
When you read or hear about the growing number and rising total number of COVID-19 deaths, you need to keep this information in mind since it clearly shows that the elderly are the most vulnerable, something that the legacy media seems incapable of sharing with their reading or viewing public. If anything, we should be holding governments responsible for abdicating their responsibility to care for their aging citizens.
A very disappointing aspect of this pandemic has been the global revelation of poor living conditions for the older age groups.
ReplyDeleteSince when has this responsibility been abdicated to governments?
Who is 'we" in "we should be holding"?
The jurisdiction that I live in has a social system that provides care for the elderly as part of our health care system. The two top levels of government collect our tax dollars during our lifetime with the understanding that we will be cared for in facilities that they fund as we become elderly. As such, the "we" is comprised of all voters and taxpayers.
ReplyDeleteHope that clears things up.
OK. It's still interesting to see how so many people among 'us' can easily delegate this responsibility to the "ruling elite".
ReplyDeleteIs it the fault of mainstream media?
...
For those of us living in a nation where the medical system is considered universal and paid for with our taxes, we are basically aware from a very early age that the state will care for us during periods of time when we need assistance. In most cases, we watched aging grandparents and then parents using the system that their tax dollars supported over their entire working lives. It's not really the mainstream media that has had us believe this "right", it is basically enshrined in the medical system which is funded by taxpayers who expect a return on their lifelong investment.
ReplyDeleteHere are two examples. I have a friend who lives in the United States. When her husband developed Lewy body dementia, she was well aware that the $90,000 plus per year that she would have to pay for his long-term care was totally out of reach and would quickly exhaust their savings. Where I live, one of my parents was paying less than $25,000 per year for long-term care. If my parents had totally exhausted their savings, the cost of LTC would have been zero because that is how our system works.
Thanks for the perspective but i get all that..
ReplyDeletei find it funny because it's as if you are trying to convince me of the importance of collective institutions. :)
As you are likely well aware though, there has been a a historical 'redistribution' component to old age 'protection' and lately (last few decades) a growing inter-generational debt.
Also, there is a very large number of people who end up "parking" their old folks into institutions that are poorly staffed and that score low on the 'humanity' level.
Food for thought.
I'm not trying to convince you of anything, I'm just trying to explain my lifelong background in how my nation's social medicine system works for the elderly.
ReplyDeleteWe are not allowed to "park" our elderly - they go through a very rigorous screening process to avoid just such an issue and, if they are not "ready" for LTC, they are scored as such and will not be admitted until their score is high enough to justify admission.
As for poor staff - I couldn't agree more. Some locations have excellent staff while others are extremely "low on the humanity level". It's kind of a crap shoot - fortunately, when one of my parents was ready for admission, the social worker/nurse in charge of their case made it quite clear which institutions should be avoided and which should be considered. I also have a family member who worked in the LTC system (not for the system itself) and received some solid advice.
My guess is that LTC is going to be a far worse prospect as time passes as debt rises and governments make cuts to health care expenditures.
Have a great Christmas.
For the LTC aspect, i'm much more critical of the result of the institutional process but aim to improve that (individual and collective levels).
ReplyDeletei would submit however that universal medical system that 'we' have is a result of basically the same institutional process that gave rise to vaccines ie from the: "state will care for us during periods of time when we need assistance".
Why it makes sense for LTC and not for vaccines is eluding me (and perhaps you) at this point. (?)
Have a great Christmas too.