"WhAt wUz thEiR undERLyinG cONditION???"

[RhodeIslandOne]

This is the new MAGA tactic in response to stories about any younger person COVID death on social media now that “buT wHAt abOUt thE fLU?????” is losing steam as the deaths quickly mount. I’ve seen it several times today. The lack of empathy and gaslighting continue.

[Igel]

1. Most of the deaths do have some comorbidity.

Young people dying from this are outliers. There's usually a reason besides they got sick.

Not always, any more than with the aged. Just usually.

The lack of empathy comes from looking at numbers instead of spending 5 minutes on each of the 20k. You do that, you're busy for almost 3 months doing nothing but mourning. And in that time things need to be done.

The lack of empathy is fairly routine during the regular flu season. One season--2017/18, I think it was--saw 61k deaths in the US. That's sixty-one thousand people who died from the flu. I've been told that 20k is "devastating", but 61k is no big deal. Or that that's different--it's the flu, not COVID. Dead's dead.

And still the rest of us kept on keeping on, and we'll do the same now, leading people bury their dead. If it wasn't a political thing, a lot of people who don't care would care, and a lot of those who do wouldn't. Some ramped up their concern as soon as race was listed as a major issue--wasn't as big a deal when there's wasn't some injustice, even if it's the same old injustice and it's hard to say exactly what percentage of the deaths are attributable to any given kind of injustice.

[mr_lebowski]

4. 2017/2018 was the worst year in 4 decades including 2008 and 2009, both of which were bad

2009 being H1N1 year.

Normal range is 12K-56K.

It's also over an entire season ... COVID is over 20K dead in like 6 weeks. And while it's still mostly killing older people as flu does, I believe it's considerably more likely to kill a 40-60 year old than the Flu does.

Lastly, literally 10's of millions of people get the flu every year. Right now we have well under 1M known cases in the US, and over 6 weeks, as many deaths as we see often see over the course of entire flu seasons.

[Solomon]

10. In addition, we didn't take social distancing measures

and shut down the economy because of the flu. How many millions would die if we didn't do that with corona?

People need to stop comparing it to the flu.

[SoonerPride]

2. Vaping is a big risk

Last edited Mon Apr 13, 2020, 12:00 AM - Edit history (1)

As is just being unlucky

It seems that the viral load can also be a determinant of how lethal it is regardless of age.

Front line nurses and doctors who intubate patients can get a face full of virus thousands of times greater than others and that viral load can kill otherwise heathy younger people.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

3. Even many younger victims have underlying health issues.

Just because someone isn't over 70, doesn't mean they're in excellent health.

I get it that no one really deserves to die from this, but the reality is that this strikes some people a whole lot harder than others.

Especially if you have lung issues of any kind. Such as if you smoke

Or if you are obese. Lots of bad things go with obesity.

It's not lack of empathy and it's not gaslighting. It's reality.

[RhodeIslandOne]

7. Does it matter?

If they didn’t get the virus, what’s the percentage they’d still be alive this week? Next month? Next year?

It’s an attempt to diminish how quickly we allowed this to get out of control and imply it’s some sort of Darwinism for defective people which I thought the “pro life” party hated.

The vast majority of these social media mavens are definitely pro Trump by the way.

[lunasun]

5. Lack of empathy is a MAGAT requirement

[Hekate]

6. Until it happens to a member of their own family

[OnDoutside]

8. Well said.

[treestar]

9. Yes, and then blame them for it.

[ConnorMarc]

11. The deaths are due to Covid-19

Because if they didn't get Covid-19, they'd still be alive.

Regardless of their previous health condition.

If you were dying from cancer, but got robbed and shot in the head while on your way to chemotherapy, the cause of death isn't "previous underlying health conditions" it's a gunshot to the head.

People need to stop w/the nonsense. It's foolishness.

[muriel_volestrangler]

12. Not new - when the Chinese whistleblowing doctor died, I had a wingnut tell me he must have had

some pre-existing condition - that's about 2 months ago now.