2+2 = 5 ???

[Mike Mercury]

Questions raised after fatal motorcycle crash listed as COVID-19 death

ORLANDO, Fla. - A person who died in a motorcycle accident was added to Florida’s COVID-19 death count, according to a state health official.

FOX 35 News found this out after asking Orange County Health Officer Dr. Raul Pino whether two coronavirus victims who were in their 20s had any underlying conditions. One of his answers surprised us.

“The first one didn’t have any. He died in a motorcycle accident,” Pino said.

Dr. Pino was asked if the man’s data was removed.

“I don’t think so. I have to double-check,” Pino said. “We were arguing, discussing, or trying to argue with the state. Not because of the numbers -- it’s 100…it doesn’t make any difference if it's 99 -- but the fact that the individual didn’t die from COVID-19…died in the crash. But you could actually argue that it could have been the COVID-19 that caused him to crash. I don’t know the conclusion of that one.”

There are still two people in their 20s on Orange County’s data list for coronavirus deaths.

Earlier this week, the Florida Department of Health sent FOX 35 News a statement that attempted to clarify that a "COVID death" is determined if, "COVID19 is listed as the immediate or underlying cause of death, or listed as one of the significant conditions contributing to death. Or, if there is a confirmed COVID-19 infection from a lab test – and the cause of death doesn’t meet exclusion criteria – like trauma, suicide, homicide, overdose, motor-vehicle accident, etc."

“The only thing that I can say to people is the data I provide you with is the data we consume from the state. We offer you the best data that we have,” Dr. Pino said.

Dr. Pino tells us the medical examiner has to certify all COVID-19 deaths. We also reached out to that office and haven’t heard back.

[snide]

Originally Posted by Mike Mercury

But you could actually argue that it could have been the COVID-19 that caused him to crash.

[FLEXjs]

I have seen several instances where officials have publicly stated that anyone who dies for any reason is considered a COVID death if they tested positive for COVID at the time of death, regardless if COVID actually killed them.


Will be super interesting to see the statistics for 2020 deaths of all types compared to prior years. My guess is we will see dramatic reductions of all other leading causes of death.

[Steve_R]

Originally Posted by FLEXjs

I have seen several instances where officials have publicly stated that anyone who dies for any reason is considered a COVID death if they tested positive for COVID at the time of death, regardless if COVID actually killed them.


Will be super interesting to see the statistics for 2020 deaths of all types compared to prior years. My guess is we will see dramatic reductions of all other leading causes of death.

Yup, lots of reports include COVID "related" deaths, which is vastly different from those "caused" by COVID. Anything to increase the counts is fair game in many states.

[Aerovette]

What I cannot find anywhere are the number of deaths by year for the last 10 years. There are rates, percentages, etc, but I can't find a simple list or graph that has just total deaths regardless of reason. I want to see the trend and where this year lies.

[Steve_R]

Originally Posted by aerovette

What I cannot find anywhere are the number of deaths by year for the last 10 years. There are rates, percentages, etc, but I can't find a simple list or graph that has just total deaths regardless of reason. I want to see the trend and where this year lies.

You have to scroll a lot, but those numbers are here for every year from 1933 through 2018. For the last few years 2.7M to 2.8M people have died in the U.S. I predict about 2.8M people will die in the U.S. in 2020.