IS IT “WITH” OR “OF” COVID-19?
COMEDIAN Eddie Large died of heart failure but he also tested positive for COVID-19 before he died so the media was able to report that he died of the killer virus and the public was able to accept that as fact along with many other verdicts about elderly, sick people suddenly dying at home, in care homes and in hospitals.
https://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/1264073/Eddie-Large-dead-coronavirus-health-heart-transplant-little-and-large-career-news-latest
The Eddie Large story highlights the crucial difference between “with” and “of” in the reporting of deaths caused by COVID-19 all over the world.
We do not have access to his death certificate so are not able to establish true cause of death (assuming that death certificates actually do always reliably and accurately pinpoint cause of death) but it is clear from his personal medical history that he was a very ill man in a very, very vulnerable state.
My guess is that there will be three causes of death – the first two referring to his heart condition and the third to COVID-19, which may have compromised his immune system.
Reuters, the respected world news agency, reports today that the death toll in the UK is 52,000 (an incredibly small total when you consider the measures implemented by the government and the frightening warnings and changes to law including to the Mental Health Act enabling just one doctor rather than two to section people).
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britain-casualties-idUSKBN23G101
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/uk-coronavirus-live-latest-updates-boris-johnson-lockdown-a4463346.html
Now, at a time when governments are trying to convince everyone of the danger of COVID-19, you might think that they would have a higher figure than Reuters but the death toll published by the government is actually lower than theirs.
The Reuters tally has deaths where COVID-19 was merely mentioned on death certificates in England, Wales and Northern Ireland up to May 29, and up to May 31 in Scotland. It also includes more recent hospital deaths and even includes suspected cases – which they claim gives a more accurate picture because testing was scarce early in the crisis.
They also report that about 64,000 more people than usual have died in the United Kingdom during this year’s pandemic, according to the latest available data from the Office for National Statistics.
My initial feeling was that the government was preparing for millions of deaths, not thousands and it seems reasonable to conclude that the Eddie Large case is not untypical in that his death was principally due to underlying serious illness which was already present.
This, obviously, raises a lot of uncomfortable issues.
I have not heard anyone at government daily media briefings raise this issue or even try to establish if cause of death is reliable and accurate always.
The devil, as they say, is in the detail and nobody is addressing the detail.
GARRY W GIBBS 