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We are now more than two weeks from the major outbreak at Bar Kirouac and these death rates are still low. Why are deaths seemingly not rising as fast as they did in the spring? Thread. https://twitter.com/sante_qc/status/1306247563910230016
I've been fascinated by this for a while now, and there are several theories out there about why the death rates are slowing. Here's an update from the US https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-deaths-tick-lower-for-now-11599669843
It's likely a combination of factors, so let's check those factors out.
1. We are more prepared in long-term care and other high-risk locations. But the system is still broken, so that can't fully account for the lower death rates. What else?
1. We are more prepared in long-term care and other high-risk locations. But the system is still broken, so that can't fully account for the lower death rates. What else?
2. people getting COVID are younger. This is probably partly the case too (here is some information from the UK). But even then, if you compare Canada rates with who is dying in the US and their ages, it doesn't fully account either. https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-why-arent-death-rates-rising-with-case-numbers-145865
3. My favourite theory -- masks! Not just to reduce who is getting sick, but it looks like they may also reduce how sick you get, if you get it. This suggests that wearing a mask at home if a family member is sick could help. https://abc7news.com/coronavirus-mask-covid-kn95-for/6366310/
This theory says that thanks to widespread mask wearing, we are only getting infected with smaller amounts of the virus, making us less sick. It's fascinating and I wish Canadian media would write more about these studies and their findings ...
4. Better hospital protocols -- from steroid use to treating patients on their stomachs, there have been important advances in care for patients that have certainly reduced how many people die.
I take a lot of optimism in this, and I think everyone should Optimism doesn't mean letting our guards down, of course, but it does show that there is a positive shift in how the virus is ravaging us and that maybe, it's getting slowly better.
I like to think about how the virus needs us to live if it's going to continue to exist. I just hope that by the time it inevitably finds me, it's mutated to just give me a cold.
