When you focus testing on the sick, you skew the fatality rate for everyone in the state
BY DR. DEANE WALDMAN, ALBUQUERQUE RESIDENT
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is destroying our state in the name of bad medicine and non-science, despite her claims to the contrary. She is restoring lockdown and economically crushing the poorest state in the union. Her insanity is further demonstrated by her mask edict: She orders us to wear face masks when we are out exercising, running or bicycling — my preference.
What does a mask do when I am out on my bike? It protects neither me nor anyone else, as no one is within six feet, or more likely six miles, of me. What the mask does accomplish is force me to breathe in my own carbon dioxide and take away what little moisture I might get from the air I inhale.
I went to get a COVID-19 test but was turned away as they are only testing those who might be sick with COVID. Thus, the number of “cases” reported are a highly select population for likely ill persons. How many people in our state have or more likely had COVID-19 infection, never got sick and now have immunity?
Here is some real medical science instead of false narrative coming from the Roundhouse. Reported “cases” to date, not testing the general population, are 16,971, which is 0.8% of the state population. There have been 571 deaths suggesting a case fatality rate of 3.3% (571÷16,971). This is a gross over-estimate.
Based on studies in California, epidemiologists estimate there are 50-85 asymptomatic, untested COVID cases, now immune, for every one reported “case.” At the minimum, this would suggest that 848,550 New Mexicans had or have COVID; most are not ill at all, and have developed or are developing herd immunity. If merely this minimum number of infected person is correct, the case fatality rate for COVID-19 in New Mexico is 0.06%, not 3.7% as reported by the governor. For contrast, the case fatality rate for seasonal flu is approximately 0.2%, greater than COVID-19, a virus that is really dangerous only to those with pre-existing conditions.
Meanwhile the Journal fires up our fears by publishing (July 9 in “Media owes it to public to humanize COVID-19”) such exhortations as: “has not cast a bright enough light on the human toll;” “must recapture people’s attention about the dangers of the virus;” and journalists should “show infected people suffering.”
What about showing the millions who are infected and are not even sick?
Our governor has thrown out the Bill of Rights and crushed our economy, driving people to despair and suicide, all because she can, or thinks she can. She has taken Rahm Emmanuel’s advice to its extreme conclusion, “never let a crisis go to waste” if you want to increase your power.
New Mexico has an exceedingly low rate of illness and death for COVID-19. What we should do immediately is offer strict quarantine to those at high risk — elderly, like me, and/or with pre-existing conditions — completely release the rest of the population and offer mass testing to everyone so we have accurate numbers of who actually has or had COVID-19.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BY DR. DEANE WALDMAN, ALBUQUERQUE RESIDENT
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is destroying our state in the name of bad medicine and non-science, despite her claims to the contrary. She is restoring lockdown and economically crushing the poorest state in the union. Her insanity is further demonstrated by her mask edict: She orders us to wear face masks when we are out exercising, running or bicycling — my preference.
What does a mask do when I am out on my bike? It protects neither me nor anyone else, as no one is within six feet, or more likely six miles, of me. What the mask does accomplish is force me to breathe in my own carbon dioxide and take away what little moisture I might get from the air I inhale.
I went to get a COVID-19 test but was turned away as they are only testing those who might be sick with COVID. Thus, the number of “cases” reported are a highly select population for likely ill persons. How many people in our state have or more likely had COVID-19 infection, never got sick and now have immunity?
Here is some real medical science instead of false narrative coming from the Roundhouse. Reported “cases” to date, not testing the general population, are 16,971, which is 0.8% of the state population. There have been 571 deaths suggesting a case fatality rate of 3.3% (571÷16,971). This is a gross over-estimate.
Based on studies in California, epidemiologists estimate there are 50-85 asymptomatic, untested COVID cases, now immune, for every one reported “case.” At the minimum, this would suggest that 848,550 New Mexicans had or have COVID; most are not ill at all, and have developed or are developing herd immunity. If merely this minimum number of infected person is correct, the case fatality rate for COVID-19 in New Mexico is 0.06%, not 3.7% as reported by the governor. For contrast, the case fatality rate for seasonal flu is approximately 0.2%, greater than COVID-19, a virus that is really dangerous only to those with pre-existing conditions.
Meanwhile the Journal fires up our fears by publishing (July 9 in “Media owes it to public to humanize COVID-19”) such exhortations as: “has not cast a bright enough light on the human toll;” “must recapture people’s attention about the dangers of the virus;” and journalists should “show infected people suffering.”
What about showing the millions who are infected and are not even sick?
Our governor has thrown out the Bill of Rights and crushed our economy, driving people to despair and suicide, all because she can, or thinks she can. She has taken Rahm Emmanuel’s advice to its extreme conclusion, “never let a crisis go to waste” if you want to increase your power.
New Mexico has an exceedingly low rate of illness and death for COVID-19. What we should do immediately is offer strict quarantine to those at high risk — elderly, like me, and/or with pre-existing conditions — completely release the rest of the population and offer mass testing to everyone so we have accurate numbers of who actually has or had COVID-19.
ASSOCIATED PRESS