Tel-Chai Nation

Ruthie Blum recently followed up on a report about Israeli doctors who've realized, much like US doctors, why Covid19 isn't necessarily harming the public to the point of mortality:

The second was the voiced statistic of “11,000 critically ill patients and an increase of 90 every day.”

“At the time of this writing,” the authors of the letter pointed out, “the number of serious patients was 539. If [this figure was referring to the total since the onset] of the pandemic, then it is in no way relevant to the decision to impose a lockdown.” The actual number, they said, is much lower, with an average increase of seriously ill patients hovering at eight to nine per day.

The third was the “false” statement that about 20 patients die of the virus every 24 hours.

“While every individual is a world [unto himself],” the experts wrote, “and while every death is a tragedy and source of pain for the family, the 20-deaths threshold was crossed only once throughout the month of December. [Furthermore], it is important to note that in an average year, 1,000-1,300 [Israelis] die from flu-like illnesses and more than 5,000 from pneumonia, most during the winter. This figure reflects an average daily mortality rate of 14 [in other months of the year], and an average of 20 in winter.”

The fourth claim they dismissed was that the number of new cases diagnosed daily is on a steep rise.

The link between the number of verified cases, and severe morbidity and mortality is limited, they said, and a rise in the former does not automatically indicate an increase in the latter. One reason for this, they explained, is that the amount of verified cases depends largely on the number of tests conducted. Another, they added, is that many of those diagnosed with the virus experience mild or no symptoms.

The fifth was the claim that some of the hospitals are already overloaded with coronavirus patients.

The doctors insisted that the burden on hospitals this month is actually very low compared to that of previous years. According to these medical experts, the average occupancy of Israeli hospitals in December is 120 percent, and often reaches 150 or even 200 percent. This month, in contrast, most hospitals are below 14 percent occupancy, and 90 percent of the 24 hospitals from which the information was taken are below 70 percent.

“By all accounts, winter 2020 is one of the least busy the health system has experienced in recent years,” they wrote.

The sixth had to do with the fear that the new strain(s) of the virus will impair the effectiveness of the vaccine.

The signatories of the letter assured that not only is this possibility low, but it runs counter to statements made by Health Ministry Director General Hezi Levy and other government figures, who announced that the vaccine probably works against the mutation.

As noted by some US health specialists, it does work against the mutation, and it's not like whatever strain exists now is any more difficult to deal with than previous editions. Now if the situation here isn't serious, then it's obviously no different from that in the USA, for example, where most cases are down, though California and New York obviously aren't faring well in their own way, no thanks to the repellent governors and mayors of their major cities, whose handling has been disastrous. So I think the government had better start reevaluating their approach, and not make it any more difficult for people than in the USA.

Labels: communications, Israel, Knesset