That CDC Report--and Malicious Ignorance

Some people have made a very great deal of fuss regarding a recent report from the CDC stating that "94% of COVID-19 deaths had underlying medical conditions" (news report here, original CDC report here, as of August 26, 2020). These people cluck approvingly that this 'proves' (1) that COVID-19 deaths are much ado about nothing, (2) that healthy people--that is, people without these underlying conditions--have nothing to fear from COVID-19, especially because (3) relatively few people have these underlying conditions.

People who say these things are deeply ignorant people who know nothing about medical statistics or epidemiology. Worse, their gullible ignorance endangers the health of each of us, and our families.

What the Report Actually Found

The news report misreports the actual ranking of some of the underlying conditions. Looking at the actual CDC report, we see that the top 9 named diseases that are listed as "underlying medical conditions" in COVID deaths are as follows (percentages are percentages of total COVID-19 deaths in the study; percentages add up to more than 100 percent because of overlap):

#1: 42% influenza and pneumonia

#2: 34% respiratory failure

#3: 22% hypertensive diseases (i.e., high blood pressure)

#4: 16% diabetes

#5: 14% adult respiratory distress syndrome

#6: 12% cardiac arrest

#7. 12% vascular and unspecified dementia

#8: 8% chronic lower respiratory disease (formerly chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, or COPD)

#9: 8% renal failure

#10: 6% heart failure

These diseases fall into two categories: those that are known to be caused, or made more likely, or made worse by COVID-19, and those that are widespread underlying conditions that are known to be associated with "bad outcomes" (read: death) when it comes to COVID-19.

Diseases That Are Caused, Made More Likely, or Made Worse by COVID-19

We know that COVID-19 viciously attacks the lungs, making them highly vulnerable to complications such as flu and pneumonia (#1), leading to adult respiratory distress syndrome (#5) and, often enough, ultimately to respiratory failure (#2), as patients drown in their own lung secretions.

Of those who survive, previously healthy adult athletes--including at least one real-life friend of mine--find their lung capacity diminished, possibly for the long term.

(And yes, I am saying that because COVID-19 paves the way for influenza virus and pneumonia bacteria, COVID-19 in large part makes flu and pneumonia more likely. Of course, COVID-19 does cause a type of pneumonia all by itself.)

We also know that COVID-19 viciously attacks other organs, besides the lungs.

It attacks the heart muscle, leading to cardiac arrest (#6) and heart failure (#10).

We know that COVID-19 sometimes viciously attacks the brain and seems to cause dementia, which can lead to death (#7).

We also know that COVID-19 can attack the kidneys, leading to renal failure (#9).

Widespread Preconditions That Make People Vulnerable to COVID-19

We know that high blood pressure and other hypertensive diseases (#3) predispose people to death from COVID-19. What nobody seems to mention is that roughly one-third of the American population has hypertension. So, saying that "hey, 22 percent of COVID deaths had hypertension" doesn't mean that "the vast majority of people are safe from COVID," as the ignorant people I mentioned above seem to think. Rather, it means that one-third or more of adult Americans are at special risk for dying from COVID on this basis alone.

In addition, we know that diabetes (#4) predisposes people to death from COVID-19. What nobody seems to mention is that over 10 percent of Americans have diabetes.

Finally, we know that chronic lower respiratory disease (CLRD, #8), which includes asthma, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema, predispose people to death from COVID-19. What nobody seems to mention is that about 10 percent to 12 percent of Americans have CLRD.

CONCLUSIONS

COVID-19 causes, makes more likely, or greatly exacerbates 7 of the 10 top "underlying medical conditions" found in COVID deaths. The other 3 top "underlying medical conditions" are widespread conditions that predispose people to COVID deaths, held in total by over half of Americans.

Anyone who takes the reports that "94% of COVID-19 deaths had underlying medical conditions" to mean that "the great majority of people are safe!" are gullible, ignorant, and foolish. And their ignorance endangers the health of all of us and our families.

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