It ' s not just the dying

As I occasionally point out here (sorry to be a downer)  everybody dies. Therefore, in public health, when we measure problems or evaluate policies we don ' t just count deaths. Comparing one problem to another requires, first that we estimate the number of life years lost. As a person of oldness I am not actually offended, nor do I feel discriminated against, by the proposition that we ought to care more about a problem that will kill 1,000 people under 20 than one that will kill 1,000 people over age 80. Some people have tried to argue that because Covid is more deadly among old people, it isn ' t that big of a deal.They aren ' t squinting at the data very hard, alas. While it is true that age is a risk factor for death, it cuts off a lot of life years from people who were previously healthy and enjoying life, including quite a few young people. But that brings up another issue, which is the healthy and enjoying life part. We aren ' t just concerned about how long people live, but how well they live. So while it is true that the death rate among young and middle aged people is lower than among older people, lots and lots of people get sick, and based on current estimates (without widespread testing we can ' t be sure exactly) maybe 20% of them get really sick. That ' s why when the epidemic rages uncontrolled within a population, the hospitals fill up and they can ' t take are of everybody.As a result, some people die of other causes but that ' s not the only problem. ...
Source: Stayin' Alive - Category: American Health Source Type: blogs