by Dr. Paul Craig Roberts
PaulCraigRoberts.org
Everyone knows that the official data about Covid-19 infections and deaths are not consistent among countries and are not complete because of inadequate testing and the unknown number of cases that are too mild to be detected. However, the reported deaths are real and even prior condition deaths are provoked by virus infection.
Regardless whether reported cases reflect viral penetrance, a death rate of confirmed cases remains very meaningful for public health authorities. Confirmed cases tend to be the ones serious enough to be treated. The death rate of such cases is a good indicator of the challenge to public health.
Much about the virus remains unknown. It is not known why some who become infected get mildly ill, some deadly ill, and some not ill at all. Little doubt that part of the answer is the state of a person’s immune system. All of the deadly ill are not people with preconditions.