[just-juan-post]

We're not saying it doesn't exist.

We are saying exceptional stories like hers are repeated and spread by the media. These stories scare the general population because they think it could happen to them. Statistics tell us otherwise but most people don't know that but instead they react emotionally and get scared.

On one hand these people's stories need to be shared. On the other hand sharing them spreads fear and, indirect, mis-information about the potency of the virus.

I don't have a good answer but stories like this bring eyeballs and viewers to the media. That's their goal and by attaining that goal they're scaring the public.

[neuronic]

Studies and statistics also tell us that as a young person below the age of 50 you have a 0.01% chance of succumbing to COVID. Yet, you will read the stories of the unfortunate few as if it's NORMAL that this happens to people. It's not. Those are outliers but media report on these real cases but inflate them as if the bubonic plaque has hit the planet.

Coronavirus is very dangerous and worse than the flu. But we need to stop acting as if this is a population killer virus. We have a pandemic and we need to stop it but the amount of panic-inducing articles and videos is insane. We need a level-headed approach.

Make no mistake - I believe in and support the measures we take. Fully. I wear mask whenever required and even more often than that. I want to keep others safe from this virus and keeping distance/wearing a mask costs nothing. We need to stop this virus especially since it's rather novel.

BUT. And this is a big but. You have to explain to the same people who shut down their shops a few months ago and might have to do so again that we are tanking the economy on purpose (Germany in my case).

This will also cost lives. It's just harder to make that connection but people will die as a result of lockdown measures. Why is death by Corona less okay then death by shitty economy and its effects? What is this weird disregard for other deaths when compared to Corona? Because it's more tangible?

All kinds of metrics are telling us that poor economic performance and economic depressions are directly correlated with increased deaths, e.g. suicides or simply shittier healthcare.

It's just impossible to openly talk about this without causing a demon rampage.

[faitswulff]

> On the other hand sharing them spreads fear and, indirect, mis-information about the potency of the virus.

And what if it’s information and not misinformation? And what if the public should be scared?

[just-juan-post]

They should not be.

Infection Fatality Ratios for COVID-19 Among Noninstitutionalized Persons 12 and Older: Results of a Random-Sample Prevalence Study

Sept 2020, Annals of Internal Medicine, study in Indiana, USA

https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-5352

People aged 40 or below have a .01% chance of dying.

People over the age of 70 have a 1.17% chance of dying.

Overall the chance of dying from the virus is 0.26%.

I encourage you to share this information.

[faitswulff]

The point the original post is making is that it's not just about dying. You don't know what the other effects may be on your body. Are you willing to roll the dice on it?

Furthermore, the more people that have it, the more out of control it will be. Obviously. And while on average your chances of death or debilitation are low, it will have outsized effects on minorities, frontline workers, and other groups. You're not just rolling the dice on your own health, you're doing so with the health of everyone you interact with as well.

[superkuh]

Your quoted figures were surprising to me so I went and read the source. Are you aware that the statistics you're citing explicitly don't include over half of the deaths in the sample? It's the fifth paragraph,

> Although nursing home residents were not tested, they represented 54.9% of Indiana's deaths. Thus, we excluded nursing home residents from all calculations (that is, deaths and infections).

[TillE]

You're responding to a discussion about serious long-term effects with death statistics. Why?