Dear Chattanooga friends:
I long for the days of Walter Cronkite where the news was reported in 30 minutes and without all the adjectives that you hear today. The “news” has become a 24-hour show based on who can provide and promote the most sensational story, whether or not it is fact based.
Also listen to the ads. Count the words in the ads and the “news” that are intended to cause fear and provide control. Why is the reporter on a deserted beach wearing a mask for the camera?
When googling deaths from all causes for 2020, it is difficult to find anything other than statistics for Covid 19. Why is that? Obviously, people are dying from many other causes as well.
Below is a summary of data compiled by the National Center for Health Statistics and reported by the CDC for the U.S. for years 2017 and 2018:
|
2017 |
2018 |
| Number of deaths: |
2,813,503 |
2,839,205 |
| Death rate per 100,000 population: |
731.9 |
723.6 |
| Life expectancy in years: |
78.6 |
78.7 |
| Infant Mortality rate (deaths per 1,000 live births): |
5.79 |
5.66 |
|
|
|
| Number of deaths for leading causes of death: |
|
|
| Heart Disease: |
647,457 |
655,381 |
| Cancer: |
599,108 |
599,274 |
| Accidents (unintentional injuries): |
169,936 |
167,127 |
| Chronic lower respiratory diseases: |
160,201 |
159,486 |
| Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): |
146,383 |
147,810 |
| Alzheimer’s disease: |
121,404 |
122,019 |
| Diabetes: |
83,564 |
84,946 |
| Influenza and Pneumonia: |
55,672 |
59,120 |
| Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis: |
50,633 |
51,386 |
| Intentional self-harm (suicide): |
47,173 |
48,344 |
| All other causes: |
731,972 |
744,312 |
Source: NCHS, National Vital Statistics System, Mortality.
People are dying at much faster rates from other diseases; however, these statistics do not feed into the fear frenzy being created over Covid 19.
So, instead of getting sucked in by the sensationalism and drama, watch an episode of Leave it to Beaver or Gunsmoke. Relax. Watch Family Feud and laugh.
If you are sick, stay home. If you feel at risk, stay home.
May the rest of us Go in Peace to Love and Serve the Lord.
Ladell McCullough
Harrison
* * *
Mr. McCullough, with the exception of one or two, maybe three, of those illnesses you mentioned. How many of them can someone simply walk by you, cough or sneeze in your direction, and the next thing you know you're flat on your back with a serious infection struggling to breathe? Then within a matter of days, you might have a tube running down your throat to help you breathe, or a surgical trachea hole in your throat with a breathing tube in the hole to pump air into your lungs?
Granted some cancer cells might be transferable from one individual to the next via body fluids. My great aunts and great uncles were pretty cool for having been born and grew up in a more socially reserved period. However, when discussing the birds and bees with their nephews, nieces, great-nephews/nieces they didn't hesitate to lecture and warn not to place your mouths on any part of the body below the belt buckle. Even way back then, when little was known about cancer and how some cancer cells might be transferable, they let us know there was a possibility that certain cancer cells could possibly be passed from one individual to the next through bodily fluids. Not to mention other communicable social diseases and illnesses.
Since this covid stuff is so new, unpredictable and continuously changing with its symptoms, and how it can affect differently from one person to the next, it only makes sense to take as much precaution as possible, don't you think?
Brenda Washington