The statistics of the pandemic (as reported by our beloved Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) reveal how oddly inflammatory the coverage is, as well as how stupid or compromised our "Leaders" are.
Allegheny County has a population of about 1.2 million. Of Allegheny County's 3,557 "cases" there have been exactly ZERO deaths of anyone under 20 years old. I'm not sure exactly what that percentage is, but it's pretty close to NOTHING. Please remind me why the schools were all closed, and apparently will be closed for the foreseeable future.
The total deaths of people UNDER 60 is twelve (12). We don't know how many of those 12 were medically "compromised" (certainly a couple were), but still, according to my gazintafier, 12/3557=three tenths of one percent of the reported "cases." And that's over several months. Now take another look at that statistic. Those twelve unfortunate people do not represent three tenths of one percent of THE COUNTY POPULATION; those twelve people constitute 0.3% of THOSE WHO WERE INFECTED. When looking at the county's population of people under 60 years old (approx. 1 Million), the twelve dead people constitute about .001% of the population. Would you rationally give up most of the things you enjoy doing because they result in a 12-in-a-million chance of getting sick and dying?
When you send your kid to school, there is ALWAYS the chance that s/he will bring home some sickness that s/he picked up from classmates. If you add one more possible sickness that NEVER KILLS kids, would you keep you kid home because of it? You would be a paranoid idiot if you did.
At the other end of the statistical tale, 81% of all of the deaths were people over 70, most WELL over 70.
So if our Leaders (he wrote, sarcastically) were rational, and had this information in hand, none of the "hunker down" guidelines would be directed at ANYONE under 60 years old. They would be issuing guidelines for old bastards like me and telling normal healthy adults and children to go about their business and try not to sneeze on Granny.
And if we get a gazillion "new cases" every day, and they are all healthy people under 60 years old, it wouldn't mean a God-damned thing. Which is why it drives me crazy to see these headlines every morning about all the new "cases." That information is nearly meaningless.
Allegheny County has a population of about 1.2 million. Of Allegheny County's 3,557 "cases" there have been exactly ZERO deaths of anyone under 20 years old. I'm not sure exactly what that percentage is, but it's pretty close to NOTHING. Please remind me why the schools were all closed, and apparently will be closed for the foreseeable future.
The total deaths of people UNDER 60 is twelve (12). We don't know how many of those 12 were medically "compromised" (certainly a couple were), but still, according to my gazintafier, 12/3557=three tenths of one percent of the reported "cases." And that's over several months. Now take another look at that statistic. Those twelve unfortunate people do not represent three tenths of one percent of THE COUNTY POPULATION; those twelve people constitute 0.3% of THOSE WHO WERE INFECTED. When looking at the county's population of people under 60 years old (approx. 1 Million), the twelve dead people constitute about .001% of the population. Would you rationally give up most of the things you enjoy doing because they result in a 12-in-a-million chance of getting sick and dying?
When you send your kid to school, there is ALWAYS the chance that s/he will bring home some sickness that s/he picked up from classmates. If you add one more possible sickness that NEVER KILLS kids, would you keep you kid home because of it? You would be a paranoid idiot if you did.
At the other end of the statistical tale, 81% of all of the deaths were people over 70, most WELL over 70.
So if our Leaders (he wrote, sarcastically) were rational, and had this information in hand, none of the "hunker down" guidelines would be directed at ANYONE under 60 years old. They would be issuing guidelines for old bastards like me and telling normal healthy adults and children to go about their business and try not to sneeze on Granny.
And if we get a gazillion "new cases" every day, and they are all healthy people under 60 years old, it wouldn't mean a God-damned thing. Which is why it drives me crazy to see these headlines every morning about all the new "cases." That information is nearly meaningless.
