Meadows Defends Trump's 'Harmless' Coronavirus Claim: 'Vast Majority Are Safe'

[TomCADem]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Omaha Steve (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: TPM

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows doubled down on President Trump’s baseless claim that 99% of coronavirus cases are “totally harmless” during an interview on “Fox and Friends” Monday morning.

During a Fourth of July event Saturday at the White House, the President insisted without evidence that 99% of coronavirus cases are “totally harmless” due to testing almost 40 million people for the viral disease. The next morning, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn repeatedly dodged when pressed on Trump’s claim during an interview on CNN, saying that that he’s “not going to get into who is right and who is wrong.”

COVID-19 cases have continued to spike nationwide as the country’s seven-day average for daily new cases hit a record high for the 27th straight day on Sunday.

Meadows then argued that “when you start to look at the stats and look at all the numbers we have,” as well as testing totals in the country, “the vast majority of people are safe from this.”

Read more: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/mark-meadows-trump-claim-99-percent-coronavirus-cases-harmless

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He goes on to say that only people who are vulnerable should be extra careful. Shoot, you might as well dare people not to wear masks or observe social distancing sort of like these folks at a Scottsdale bars a month ago right after AZ's accelerated reopening right before a Trump visit to the State.

[ananda]

1. That murder-suicide cult offers some damm strong koolaid!

nt

[Historic NY]

2. How can you defend a fallacy......

[keithbvadu2]

3. It was 99%, not "vast majority".

.

[at140]

4. Even the crowded cruise did not infect me

Never saw a single mask during cruise ending on February 29th. Only precaution the cruise company exercised was asking all passengers to sign a statement saying they had not visited China recently before boarding the ship. No proof required. Just your word was good enough. I used the passport card (not passport book) so there is no record of countries visited on a passport card. It looks like your driver's license. It is good for cruises from US ports and land crossings into Mexico & Canada. Not valid for flights.

I was careful to never touch face with unwashed hands. And that has also prevented infection while shopping at grocery stores,
and hospital and doctor's offices. In June I began wearing a mask as well. I am 80 years young.

[progree]

5. So what are the more correct numbers? Anyone?

Last edited Mon Jul 6, 2020, 02:55 PM - Edit history (3)

Me just being real crude (as usual):
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/
Cases: 3,005,356
Deaths: 132,684
Death rate: 4.4%

People can say:

* the cases in the beginning were more severe, since only the most severe cases were tested for the first couple of months at least. So death rates that include the first wave may be worse than what people getting infected lately will experience, on average

* Covid-Deaths is a smoggy statistic since some dead were never tested but had symptoms commensurate with Covid (in the beginning anyway)

* Death overall are going down, but they lag cases, and daily new cases only started increasing beginning around June 10. (So expect daily new cases to start increasing)

* Lately the percentage of young people getting infected has been growing by leaps and bounds, and the median and average ages of infections is going down, thus death rates are going down (an infected young person is much less likely to die than an infected old person)

* Some of the statistics come from Florida and other red-controlled states infamous for fudging numbers

* Many of the 3 million cases are still active (about 1.6 million actually), i.e. many cases have not proceeded to a final resolution yet

Then I see Closed Cases, aka cases with an outcome:
1,427,726   Cases which had an outcome

1,295,042   (91%) Recovered / Discharged
132,684   (9%) Deaths

Meaning about 3,005,356 - 1,427,726 = 1,577,630 cases still have not either recovered or died.
(the graph way down has 1,560,795 active cases on July 5)

Anyway if 9% of them die, we will have a 9% death rate overall.

This says nothing about hospitalizations, or ICUs, and survived -- I consider most of those (all of the ICU ones) something other than "totally harmless". OK, I consider all hospitalizations as something other than "totally harmless".

A lot of survivors suffer permanent damage not just to their lungs but several organs. And blood clots and ... (this ain't "totally harmless" )

I'm going to look for hospitalization etc. stats and BRB.

I'm real disappointed that the article didn't give a hint about what the real number is... or did I miss something they linked to?

EDITED TO ADD: Well, my home state of Minnesota has hospitalization statistics.

https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/situation.html (viewed at 1252p, 7/6)
Cases: Cumulative: 38,569
Deaths: Cumulative: 1,474
Hospitalization: Today: 258, Cumulative: 4,219
ICU: Today: 125, Cumulative: 1,290 (ICU cases are included in Hospitalization)

So anyway, from the start until now, the number of hospitalizations has been about triple (4219/1474 = 2.86) the number of deaths.

Counting just the ICU's, the number of ICU cases has been 88% the number of deaths).

Anyway, if one considers a hospitalization as something that is not "totally harmless" (I do), then approximately triple the deaths to get all non-totally-harmless cases.

(Assumes that everything that isn't a hospitalization or a death is "totally harmless" which obviously leaves out people who severely suffered at home but survived -- some with permanent damage to lungs and other organs.

Also assumes that Minnesota's hospitalization to deaths ratio applies to all of the U.S.)

[BGBD]

6. Let's just say that's true...

1% of the US population is roughly 3.5 million people.

Are we ok with exposing 3.5 million people to a deadly version of an illness because Trumps poll numbers are down?

[johnnyfins]

7. Meadows will not last long in his current role

Just watch

[erronis]

8. Expect him to move up to a position on a federal bench? Or Federalist Society?

I see great things for Mark in the future. Along with the rest of the (r)epuglicon rats.

Let's just hope that history remembers his misdeeds and rewards him appropriately.

[Grokenstein]

9. If that were true,

that's one "The 1%" I wouldn't mind seeing everyone in the White House be part of.

[Omaha Steve]

10. After a review by forum hosts....LOCKING

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