Current Events > I'm just gonna stop trying to explain what mortality rate means

(+) Yeah! (+)

Had a friend from high school block me because I told him the mortality rate for COVID-19 is higher than the flu and he just didn't get it.

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How it's not that complicated...

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Case fatality rate, I assume you mean.

Mortality rate is generally a function of the general population
Case fatality rate is the probability of dying if you get the disease

For instance, the mortality rate of COVID-19 is near zero
But the case fatality rate is like 3-4%

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Why cant you say fatality rate tho

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3 to 4% of america is still millions people are crazy

DarkRoast posted...

Case fatality rate, I assume you mean.

Mortality rate is generally a function of the general population
Case fatality rate is the probability of dying if you get the disease

Google has a definition for mortality rate as "the number of deaths in a given area or period, or from a particular cause."

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ConfessPlease posted...

How it's not that complicated...

It isn't, but math is harder for some than others.

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just call it death rate and he'll get it

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CableZL posted...

Had a friend from high school block me because I told him the mortality rate for COVID-19 is higher than the flu and he just didn't get it.

What didn't they get?

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yeah i'm not very good at math myself

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if all you listen to is fox and trump i could see why they dont want to believe anything

If your friend graduated high school and doesn't understand what mortality rate means he probably shouldn't have graduated.

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Squall28 posted...

What didn't they get?

The percentage part. He then posted a graphic, albeit outdated, from Fox News that showed a much higher mortality rate for COVID-19, but he didn't understand. I did the math and everything.

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CableZL posted...

Google has a definition for mortality rate as "the number of deaths in a given area or period, or from a particular cause."

Yes but it's a function of the GENERAL population, not the disease itself.

The mortality rate of COVID-19 is substantially lower than influenza. The difference is that it has a much higher case fatality rate.

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Where are all the "it's just the flu" and "it's no worse than a cold" people now?

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bover_87 posted...

If your friend graduated high school and doesn't understand what mortality rate means he probably shouldn't have graduated.

I'm definitely not going to say that my high school diploma is a prestigious item.

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DarkRoast posted...

Yes but it's a function of the GENERAL population, not the disease itself.

The mortality rate of COVID-19 is substantially lower than influenza. The difference is that it has a much higher case fatality rate.

"Or from a particular cause" would be referring to the disease itself. The disease itself is the "particular cause" at hand.

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CableZL posted...

The percentage part. He then posted a graphic, albeit outdated, from Fox News that showed a much higher mortality rate for COVID-19, but he didn't understand. I did the math and everything.

Yeah people are pretty shit with percentages.

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Just want to add that I have a Master of Public Health and did my thesis on the epidemiology of various diseases in my local community.

So this sort of thing is important to me.

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DarkRoast posted...

Just want to add that I have a Master of Public Health and did my thesis on the epidemiology of various diseases in my local community.

So this sort of thing is important to me.

I'm not arguing your credentials. I'm just going by the definition I posted because it fits.

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CableZL posted...

I'm not arguing your credentials. I'm just going by the definition I posted because it fits.

I mean I get what you're trying to say, and you're basically correct, but the terminology and how it's calculated is a bit more nuanced than that.

Anti-vaxxers love "Mortality per 100,000 general population" charts for this very reason. It's how they show that "measles wasn't even deadly by the time the vaccine came out"

And a drop in mortality from 14 per 100k in 1900 to 0.2 per 100k in 1960 seems like proof until you realize that 0.2 per 100k with a population of 200 million is 400 deaths per year.


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DarkRoast posted...

I mean I get what you're trying to say, and you're basically correct, but the terminology and how it's calculated is a bit more nuanced than that.

Anti-vaxxers love "Mortality per 100,000 general population" charts for this very reason. It's how they show that "measles wasn't even deadly by the time the vaccine came out"

And a drop in mortality from 14 per 100k in 1900 to 0.2 per 100k in 1960 seems like proof until you realize that 0.2 per 100k with a population of 200 million is 400 deaths per year.

We're making the same argument here, though. The opposing argument in this situation wasn't even "mortality per 100,000." It was pure "more have died from X than have died from Y." True, but it ignores the scale of both in comparison as well as the fact that one is very new and if it scales up to similar levels, it's possibly going to be more deadly in comparison. .

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CableZL posted...

We're making the same argument here, though. The opposing argument in this situation wasn't even "mortality per 100,000." It was pure "more have died from X than have died from Y." True, but it ignores the scale of both in comparison as well as the fact that one is very new and if it scales up to similar levels, it's possibly going to be more deadly in comparison. .

If if if. You dont know what the case fatality rate is yet, no one does, but you keep acting like you do. Just like you dont know if it will be more deadly but you assume it will. But some of us say, flu is far more deadly atm and that is a fact right now so take precautions but Chill, and you get snooty. Not sorry i dont immediately assume this disease thats already somewhat contained in a country 3x our size will wipe us out.

Also way to get put in your place itt by Roast. Flop

Keith_Valentine posted...

If if if. You dont know what the case fatality rate is yet, no one does, but you keep acting like you do. Just like you dont know if it will be more deadly but you assume it will. But some of us say, flu is far more deadly atm and that is a fact right now so take precautions but Chill, and you get snooty. Not sorry i dont immediately assume this disease thats already somewhat contained in a country 3x our size will wipe us out.

Also way to get put in your place itt by Roast. Flop

I never said we know the actual case fatality rate because again, most people aren't going to the doctor to get checked out for minor symptoms. This is the same for pretty much any illness, including the flu. I've said multiple times that I'm basing this on the confirmed cases vs confirmed deaths. This shouldn't be that hard for you to understand. I've also never suggested that the disease will wipe us out. I'm simply commenting on the mortality rate numbers, again, based on confirmed cases vs confirmed deaths. With pretty much any illness, the confirmed cases/deaths doesn't reflect the actual number because so many people don't go to the doctor.

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