You're not wrong about anecdata. But there's a less callous way to respond to someone who just explained that two of their relatives are dead or seriously ill...
"Interviews were conducted 14–21 days after the test date. [...] Among 292 respondents, 94% (274) reported experiencing one or more symptoms at the time of testing; 35% of these symptomatic respondents reported not having returned to their usual state of health by the date of the interview (median = 16 days from testing date), including 26% among those aged 18–34 years, 32% among those aged 35–49 years, and 47% among those aged ≥50 years. Among respondents reporting cough, fatigue, or shortness of breath at the time of testing, 43%, 35%, and 29%, respectively, continued to experience these symptoms at the time of the interview. These findings indicate that COVID-19 can result in prolonged illness even among persons with milder outpatient illness, including young adults."
> Uncomplicated influenza signs and symptoms typically resolve after 3-7 days for the majority of people, although cough and malaise can persist for >2 weeks, especially in elderly people and those with chronic lung disease.
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/acip/clinical.htm
Seems like over 14 days of flu symptoms is common.
Precisely what overall percentage of flu patients across the general population experience continuing symptoms after 14-21 days?
(Any common influenza in any typical year in the past decade is fine.)
(However, regardless, I do not consider researching your line of reasoning to be a valuable use of the time I have available for this discussion, so I will not be doing so. It’s not personal at all, though I imagine that’s of no comfort. Perhaps someone else will do so; I see someone trying in another branch.)
While your math is sound, your empathy is horrendous.
How about, "I'm so sorry about your loss. But it doesn't change the fact that..."
My sister-in-law is dead. A brother-in-law is still unsure if we can talk across a room without fainting (6 months ago he was running several miles a day). This is just in my tiny circle of close family.
Thousands in a much larger sample of had the vaccine with no side effects anywhere near that bad.