When Does A Death Count?

All sorts of conservative voices are claiming that the death count for the Covid19 is inflated because so many of the dead had underlying issues. Having reached a certain age I can promise everyone that underlying issues follow you from your earliest years and many will plague you as you age. But does that mean that dying from Covid19 while also having "underlying" issues doesn't count as a viral death?

My husband and I are both senior citizens and we both have underlying issues. He has recently recovered from treatment for prostate cancer, previously had cardiac ablations for atrial fibrillation, had spinal surgery more than a decade ago but regardless he is still vigorous and healthy, neither obese nor out of shape. If he caught the virus and died, it would be the virus that killed him. He never smoked and never drank and was still rock climbing in Yosemite two years ago. He was a tennis player in his youth and continues to stay active.

I was a competitive swimmer for most of my life until I had surgery on my cervical spine. The neurosurgeon cautioned me about continuing competition because as he put it, I don't have a governor on my engine. But I have hypertension and asthma even though I, like my husband, am neither obese nor sedentary. If I catch the virus and die it will be the virus that kills me.

Everyone dies eventually. Given that fact, the twisted reasoning of the conservative voices means that there are no virus deaths at all since everyone would die anyway. But Alex Azar blames comorbidity for the vast number of deaths in the US. Comorbidity is if you have two or more serious health issues such as asthma and hypertension in addition to the virus. Azar says that if Americans simply took better care of themselves they would be all right. While I agree that too many Americans have poor diets and too many Americans have poor habits, it is also true that too many Americans cannot afford medical care and too many Americans live in food deserts. Absent the virus they might die younger than they should but the pandemic means the virus can still be the cause.

And on the subject of comorbidity, Azar needs to look closer at the White House. Trump is obese, becoming morbidly so; Trump takes statins for high cholesterol. Mike Pompeo is obese but his other underlying conditions are not disclosed as are Trump's. Bill Barr is obese. Trump is older than the other two men which is another factor involved in the death rates.

The whole notion of blaming people for dying because it affects Trump's re-election prospects is disgusting.