GOP uses debunked theory to downplay COVID-19 death toll

GOP uses debunked theory to downplay COVID-19 death toll

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/515227-gop-uses-debunked-theory-to-downplay-covid-19-death-toll

The discredited theory in question points to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) webpage stating the coronavirus was listed as the sole cause for only 6 percent of deaths from the virus. However, that does not mean the other 94 percent of people did not die from coronavirus. Instead, it means that either another factor directly caused by coronavirus was also listed, like respiratory failure, or that there was an underlying condition like obesity or diabetes that is not necessarily fatal on its own but that heightens the risks from coronavirus.

The 6 percent figure has been seized on, however, to minimize the death toll. Last weekend, Trump retweeted a post from the user Mel Q, who is also a believer in the QAnon conspiracy theory, saying only about 9,000 people had “actually” died from coronavirus. Twitter later removed the tweet for violating its rules.

Ernst likewise said Monday that she is “so skeptical” of case and death counts from coronavirus, later adding, according to the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier: “They’re thinking there may be 10,000 or less deaths that were actually singularly COVID-19...I’m just really curious. It would be interesting to know that.”

Marshall, who is a doctor, pointed to the theory based on the 6 percent statistic in a Facebook post Sunday.

“This week the CDC quietly updated its COVID-19 data to reflect the number of deaths from COVID-19 only,” he wrote, adding it was “only 6%,” according to a screenshot posted by KSNT.

Facebook removed the post, with a spokesperson saying it violated “our policies against spreading harmful misinformation about COVID-19 since it misstates CDC data about the deadliness of the disease.”

It's like a cult really.

You can't reason with the trump fanboys/girls. Just can't.

OP only believes news sources when it agrees with this political leanings. I have this confirmed.

Don’t take anything he says as truth.

You can't reason with progressives/leftists. You just can't. Even when you show them the evidence they disagree lol

So you are saying that since Facebook removed the post it wasn't legit? Facebook lol you have got to be kidding me.

I think you have zero clue about my political ideology.

I have seen you on here for a few years- everything you have promoted is from the far left. You are definitely not a libertarian and you are 100%, not a conservative.

There are more ideologies than Left, Libertarian and Conservative you know...

And no, he is not far left xD

The GOP has branded being a human as an existing condition which disallows COVID counting at this point. 400k plus dead by this December. Remember these numbers when they get riled up during 9/11 ceremonies in several days. Ask them what the rates for dying due to terrorists are.

He's definitely not a moderate. It wasn't that long ago that he was telling me that men can magically become women- that is far left junk science.

In my country, he would almost certainly be a part of the center party or the moderate party (both of which are fairly center right).

The medical consensus disagrees with you. No one is saying you can change your genotypical sex. But your Gender, and Phenotypical Sex, have been repeatedly proven that they can be changed.

Transgender denialism is the latest batch of Far-Right junk science, no wait, COVID 19 downplaying is... The far right picks up on so much junk science I can't even keep up anymore.

I've never actually had that discussion here. So like your dear leader you lie through your teeth. I'm not demonizing those with problems either.

No, they do not.

Sorry pal, but you can't change your sex. Men have XY chromosomes and women have XX chromosomes- you cannot change this no matter what kind of surgery you have and no matter what kinds of hormones you pump into your body. There is not a biologist/doctor on the plant that agrees with this. Men and women also have different brains and most of the time just by looking at the brain you can tell what the sex is. It's true that men and women think differently.

Also, I am downplaying COVID-19 because like you, I can read the mortality rate of the United States which is currently at 5%- that's that same mortality rate of testicular cancer which is ironic because I have had both testicular cancer and COVID-19. Because of the lockdowns, domestic violence and suicides have skyrocketed and people's lives have been destroyed because they have lost their businesses... this is a great example of an overreaching government.

The government has no right to say what businesses can be open and which ones can be closed.

...Did you even try?

You know science doesn't go by a consensus right? What you are saying doesn't even make sense. Climate change activist say the same thing- that there is a consesus on climate change lol that's not how science works.

Science is the pursuit of truth, not consenus.

Your middle school levels of understanding of biology does not impress me.

No doctor agrees? Except for you know...

• American Psychological Association
• American Medical Association
• American Psychoanalytic Association
• American Academy of Pediatrics
• American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians
• United Kingdom’s National Health Service

And so on...

"Men and women also have different brains and most of the time just by looking at the brain you can tell what the sex is. It's true that men and women think differently."

Thank you for bringing this up, because as it happens. Autopsies of transmen and transwomen have shown that transgender brains tend to more closely align with the brains of the gender they identify with, much more so than normal.

5% is pretty alarming, if people let the disease spread around to the entire population, and that % would be much higher too if that happened, as doctors would be completely overloaded.

Seriously...did you even try reading what he said?

Also, I don't need you to try and explain what science is to me

What does that even mean? Are you saying gravity isn't the truth but just a consensu?

https://reason.com/video/stossel-the-science-around-male-brains-vs-female-brains/

@mighty-lu-bu: You know you can find a youtube video to align with your assertion. Never looked but I bet there are flat earth videos there. Also social media is no place to get facts. Entertainment.......yes. Facts..........no.

I didn't post a youtube video...

When I click that video it says youtube dude.........but my point was he's not an expert in the field anyway.

Well it's not, you can't even be honest with a video. The video was originally posted on JohnStossel.com and on Reason.com and put on YouTube but I posted the link from Reason.

Keep ignoring the evidence and keep believing in junk science.

Science goes by what goes into the journals. What goes in the journals is often decided by peer review.

And the scientific (and medical) consensus is pretty much the epitome of peer review. What is the scientific consensus at the time, is not determined by scholarly debates, peer review. What is the scientific consensus changes over time.

And no, Science isnt entirely concerned with "Truth". What science is generally into is being able to describe nature, and predict future events.

If it was purely truth related we wouldnt be teaching useful (but ultimately superceded) models to children in science class.

Regarding your Reason magazine link:

Once again, did you even read what I said? It seems you presuppose what other people are saying, and then reply to them with canned arguments. Because your argument has literally nothing to do with anything I said.

The fact that male and female brains are different is fundamental to my position on the validity of transgender people.

Damn you can't even admit you posted a video a youtube. Sad. You didn't address his expertise either I see. Arguing semantics. smh.

Which is exactly what I posted- not my fault people didn't look at the evidence.

Damn you can't even tell the truth. Sad.

Wait... John Stossel... THE John Stossel?

Easily the most credible person in science there is with his

"Secondhand Smoking Doesnt Kill"
Using Highly selective (cherry-picked) information to downplay climate change.
Claims that methods meant to mitigate climate change wont stop it.

I shouldnt commit more genetic fallacies. But that isnt why your argument sucks. Your argument sucks because you are completely missing the point.

Anyways, the validity of transgender people has nothing to do with this thread. And the thread is about the GOP downplaying COVID 19 deaths, which are now nearly at 200k. With the death rate (per capita) now having surpassed my own country.

No it doesnt.

You were trying to downplay the existence of a medical or scientific consensus. (Most likely because it gives Cranks like John Stossel a voice). I am bringing up that it very much exists, and the consensus is essentially a part of the peer review process.

You stated that science is concerned with the truth, I pointed out, how that isn't exactly the case.

I once again pointed out how your argument VALIDATES transgender people, it doesnt invalidate them. Your argument is practically you commiting self-ownage.

Evidence is important, but you also need a good understanding of your related field to be able to properly undrestand what is going on. That is why laymen aren't getting nobel prizes. Genetics, Quantum Mechanics, Neurology, Biochemistry are all really advanced topics. One thing a geneticist I know told his students this "Genetics is nowhere near as simple as you have been previously taught it is".

This went way off topic... Back on.... So only 6% of the people who have died, have died directly from the virus? Seems about right. I'm sure the vast majority were also older people but I haven't looked at the statistics. I know several people that supposively tested positive for the virus with no symptoms and a few had mild cold symptoms. I personally believe that the number of deaths is somewhat exaggerated a bit. But not that far off from the truth.

Medically speaking, the numbers are fine. All the reports are done under medical law. If anything, I am a bit worried they have been underreported after the Trump administration temporarily hijacked the results. Thankfully the CDC has them back.

The US numbers are roughly on par with other countries that didnt take COVID 19 seriously.

The consensus in the medical field is that they have been underreported though.

I guess that makes him the enemy, then?

Another thread that criticizes Trump hijacked by his cult,

Why did you not refute my OP.

I mean your team has been far more incorrect scientifically on far more important issues like Climate Change, Vaccines, and Covid-19.

Both which will result in deaths of millions when they are done. That is far more important than semantics arguments on gender and sex no?

The left doesn't want to have a serious discussion about climate change, if they did they would be talking about China. When Trump pulled us out of the Paris Agreement, a lot of people were skeptical about Trump's decision, yet the next year the U.S. lead the world in reducing carbon emissions.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/us-leads-world-reducing-co2/

Snopes is not a reliable fact checker by the way but I am sure that you already know that.

"What's True

According to International Energy Agency data, the United States achieved the largest absolute reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of any country in 2019"

And yet they give this a mixture rating? Completely ridiculous. I find it funny that liberals use bogus fact-checkers like Media Bias Fact Check, Snopes, and Politico.

I suggest reading the entire article. And stop cherry picking.

It's not a legitimate source so what is the point of arguing?

Trump said it was a hoax and fake. You're team was objectively wrong on this issue for decades.

He even did not believe the 13 federal agency climate report that confirmed AGW. Many GOP members literally think AGW is fake dude.

Again, if you want to have a rational climate change conversation, you need to talk about countries like China. The temperature changes over a period a time so we must be doomed right?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8JZo6PzpCU

Great video by John Stossel- I hope people watch it.

Bringing this video back to topic again.

Have I have seen so many lefties and physicians now desperately attempt to debunk the "6% stat", by explaining its medical context. Sadly, I fear their voices are being drowned out because people seem to prefer a surface level of understanding, than actually look into what the numbers mean.

Because who needs expertise when you got contextless facts?

In my FF14 static, I raid with 4 people who studied medicine. They are all equally frustrated about this 6% stat encouraging people to downplay or now ignore the virus.

@mighty-lu-bu Sorry, but I don't care about vlogs, especially not ones made by frauds.

Main steam media and academia = Bad

Unsourced videos on youtube = Good

This is the state of America. It's confirmation bias on steroids.

@HoolaHoopMan: One of the docs in my family is a huge Trump supporter, but he's constantly refuting these batshit insane medical claims because he knows enough about his field to know they're nuts. I fortunately, it has not yet occurred to him to adjust his sources and getting processes in areas outside of his expertise like climate change or economics so in those areas he remains a YouTube citing climate change denier and gold crank.

Sadly Sweden isnt much better :(

There is a reason the Sweden Democrats are getting so much support these days.

I am sure they know it's bullshit, but to them, a white lie, necessary because if liberal cease power they worry they'll all be murdered in the night.

It's genuinely disturbing to me that the Republican party is using talking points from QAnon. It's bullshit. A spinoff of the pizzagate conspiracy that is now presenting itself as an armchair epidemiologist.