Quote Originally Posted by dbackjon View Post
Like I said, undercounted by tens of thousands.

What collateral damage? Yes, there is some from delayed surgeries, treatments and fear of going out into the public.

We know that the social distancing and closing work and schools to slow the spread of Covid-19 also did the same to flu and pneumonia cases. Homicides are down.

Car fatalities are a mixed bag. Some areas much lower, others have seen an increase (severity of crashes is greater due to wide open roads encouraging higher speeds)
We know
How is it undercounted by tens of thousands when the current COVID death count falls right smack in the middle of the CDC estimates for total excess deaths? Based on those estimates it's just as likely that COVID deaths have been overcounted as undercounted.

Collateral damage is from people who missed things like chemo treatments (which for some bizarre reason were deemed "elective"), cancer screenings, A1c tests, and other preventative care that finds treatable but potentially fatal conditions. On average 5k Americans per day are diagnosed with cancer. On average 2k Americans per day die from some form of cardiovascular disease. That adds up in a hurry when treatment and preventative care for those conditions are limited to the point they have been over the last couple months.

The effects of lockdowns and social distancing is a whole other debate which I don't have the energy to get into (and probably belongs on the poli board anyway).