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malaise

(269,158 posts)
Wed May 6, 2020, 05:25 PM May 2020

3 reasons the COVID-19 death rate is higher in U.S. than Canada - good read

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/covid-19-us-canada-death-rates-1.5553168
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The overwhelming opinion points to three main contributors: longstanding issues related to health care, politics and one particular city.

While every expert agreed the U.S. government flubbed its early response to the pandemic, most said the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump was just one element in the bigger story.

The gap in fatalities between the U.S. and Canada is not a methodological quirk attributable to different reporting methods, the experts said.

The U.S. had 1.2 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, and more than 71,000 deaths as of Tuesday night, and Canada had more than 63,000 cases and close to 4,300 deaths.

Death rates more reliable measure than cases
Mortality rates are considered a more accurate reflection of the rate of spread than case totals, which rely on inconsistent testing standards across jurisdictions.

"I think per capita deaths are a proxy for the extent of disease activity," said Ashleigh Tuite, an epidemiologist at the University of Toronto.

It's important to see the U.S.-Canada disparity in a global context, she said: U.S. death rates are still far lower than those in Spain, Italy and Belgium.

U.K. COVID-19 death toll surpasses 32,000, making it deadliest coronavirus outbreak in Europe
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Funny how little discussion is taking place re the deaths in Britain
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