Below R total deaths in the US in the first four weeks of the listed years:

221,917 in 2016

241,259 in 2017

264,349 in 2018

235,806 in 2019

238,620 in 2020

NOTE the big jump in 2018 compared to surrounding years. The data is from the CDC. H/T @justin_hart for flagging.

In the above four years (excluding 2018) there were on average 234,400 deaths in the first four weeks of the year.

In 2018, there were 264,349 deaths; that’s 29,949 more deaths than the average!

ONE THOUSAND more deaths a day; nobody noticed!

But there is a larger point here:

How many more lives would have been lost in early 2018 if we changed protocol at hospitals and kept companions away from the ill as done now during Covid? IMAGINE how many lives could have been saved this year if not for these changed policies especially at nursing homes?

You needed to lockdown in late March due to a surge and/or faulty models because you did not know better? Fine. But now we are locked under the “if we can save one life” concept. Well, you could have saved 29,000 more lives in Jan 2018. Besdies, long lockdowns cause deaths too.