Thread by @MaxKennerly

This is horribly dishonest. "Only 6%" would refer to COVID deaths where the death certificate had literally nothing but "COVID-19." It means the pathologist / medical examiner was lazy and didn't even include things COVID causes, like "respiratory failure" or "cardiac arrest." /1

Table 3: cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr…

If a person with no pre-existing conditions got COVID-19, developed sepsis, went into respiratory failure, had a heart attack, and died, and the death certificate listed all that, they wouldn't be in the "only 6%." They'd have 3 comorbidities. /2

If you want to roll with "only 6%," you've got to explain something else.

42% of Americans are obese. What percent of COVID-19 deaths involved obesity?

3.5%.

What?! How?!

Simple: the chart merely lists what medical examiners chose to put on death certificates. /3

If we interpreted those death certificates the way "only 6%" people are, then the worst comorbidity of all isn't influenza, COPD, diabetes, obesity, or even cancer. It's <drumroll> "other."

Causes on death certificates aren't standardized, and practices for them vary widely. /4

Of course, a pre-existing condition doesn't mean a person ceases to be human. Most adults have a "comorbidity" of some sort; 53% of adults have elevated LDL, including Donald Trump. And we've only scratched the surface of long-term complications. /end mayoclinic.org/diseases-condi….

Local news stations are claiming 94% of COVID deaths had "contributing conditions."

If that's true, then:

* 98% of COVID deaths are still breathing (no respiratory arrest)

* 87% still have a beating heart (no cardiac arrest).

See my thread above for why this is all wrong.