Coronavirus Mutants Are Spreading Fast

Re:Coronavirus Mutants Are Spreading Fast by DiogenesKynikos on Saturday February 20, 2021 @12:09PM (#26205768)

The reason for the large number of deaths in the US is not that Americans have suppressed immune systems, are stressed, or are otherwise unhealthy. It's that the virus has been allowed to spread. The infection fatality rate in the US is not 500x higher than in China. The number of infections per capita is, however. The difference is that one country had a strict lockdown, followed by rigorous contact tracing, and the other did not.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Coronavirus Mutants Are Spreading Fast by throwaway20875 on Saturday February 20, 2021 @12:20PM (#26205892)

I think other Western nations are better comparisons for a number of reasons. I don't think discussing China's approach is a productive conversation.

>The reason for the large number of deaths in the US is not that Americans have suppressed immune systems, are stressed, or are otherwise unhealthy.

I disagree. And even if we were to stop COVID from killing so many, it's reckless to consider this as not a significant contributor to any unnecessary deaths. New variants of existing diseases are inevitable.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Coronavirus Mutants Are Spreading Fast by DiogenesKynikos on Saturday February 20, 2021 @02:34PM (#26207063)

If you don't want to discuss China, then you can look at Australia and New Zealand, both of which brought incidence down to near zero.

But there's no reason not to discuss China. It's the elephant in the room. A country of 1.4 billion people essentially ended community transmission and then opened up society again.

> I disagree.

There's nothing to disagree or agree about. The virus is not 500x more deadly in the US than in China. That's a fact, whether or not you agree. The overwhelming factor is simply the number of people who get infected in the first place.

[ Parent | on HN ]