Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, there have been inconsistencies in the reporting of COVID-19 cases. Hospitals have been incentivized to mark deaths as COVID deaths, even in cases where it may not be the primary cause of death. Hospitals were paid $13,000 per person who was admitted as a COVID case, and another $39,000 for every patient put on a ventilator.
Minnesota state senator and family physician, Scott Jenson, has critiqued the CDC’s prevention guidelines on how doctors are certifying COVID-19 deaths on death certificates. He pointed out that the current system could easily cause the disease to appear deadlier than it actually is.
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“In cases where a definite diagnosis of COVID cannot be made but is suspected or likely (e.g. the circumstances are compelling with a reasonable degree of certainty) it is acceptable to report COVID-19 on a death certificate as ‘probable’ or ‘presumed.'”
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Under the current CDC guidelines, a patient who is hit by a bus, and then tests positive for COVID-19, would be marked as a COVID death, despite injuries from the bus accident.
In Florida, a man died in a motorcycle accident, tested positive for COVID-19, and was then marked down as a COVID death. The same thing was seen in the case of a man who died of a gunshot wound, and a man who died of Parkinson’s disease.
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The media consistently reports the number of positive test results instead of actual case numbers, making the virus seem much more deadly than it actually is. A positive coronavirus test does not mean that you have the disease of COVID-19, it generally means you are infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. To have a case of COVID-19, one needs to show symptoms of the virus. A case of COVID-19 and a positive coronavirus test result are not the same thing.
CDC director, Robert Redfield has admitted that the financial policies put in place could have resulted in elevated hospitalization rates and death toll statistics. Brett Grior with the U.S Health and Human Services Department has also said he believes that financial incentivization could have resulted in higher COVID-19 death rates.
This is not to say that COVID-19 is all a big hoax. COVID-19 is very much real and can be dangerous to some people. If you’re worried about COVID-19, your primary focus should be living a healthy lifestyle that promotes a healthy gut. A healthy gut is the best way to prevent all diseases.