A mysterious insurance report says “excess mortality is rising” could it be the vaccines?
No. Virtually all the excess mortality is associated with COVID infections!
A debunking 🧵. 1/
Every few months, a myth of “unexplained deaths not from COVID” resurfaces.
Last time they claimed “young people” were inexplicably dying. Looking at the actual data it was pretty clear that virtually all the excess deaths under 45 were due to COVID.
In a later incarnation, this conspiracy theory revolved around a mysterious (and nameless) "insurance industry expert” & "former Wall Street analyst” who did his own analysis and “found an 84% increase in excess mortality."
Let’s look at the actual data:
If we look at weekly deaths of all cause, we can see five spikes above baseline in weekly deaths, each corresponding to a wave of the pandemic.
Source: CDC cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr… 4/
How much of the increase in mortality is due to COVID?
If we look at # of deaths/week, comparing weekly COVID deaths to total deaths. we can see the answer is almost all of it!
Example: Of the ~27k excess deaths in early 2021, ~26k were due to COVID! cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr… 5/
But we don’t have to look just at correlations, because Doctors put the cause of death on death certificates.
Looking at COVID associated deaths🟦vs non COVID deaths 🟩, we can see that virtually all of the excess mortality can been attributed to COVID infection!
Source: CDC 6/
This isn’t really surprising since COVID was the THIRD leading cause of death in the US in 2021. cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/7…
7/
Not only do mortality spikes correlate with surges in COVID infections, they do NOT correlate with vaccinations.
Compare 3 lines: weekly excess Mortality ⬛, COVID cases 🟥, & vaccinations🟦
The correlation (R²) is higher for mortality⬛ & cases🟥. github.com/hmatejx/COVID_… 8/
If we look at that insurance report that Kory shared (and clearly didn’t read), we can see more evidence that vaccination *reduces* excess mortality.
Specifically excess mortality is HIGHEST in the places with the LOWEST vaccinations!
Source: soa.org/48ff80/globala… 9/
This too isn't surprising, we know that at this point in the pandemic the vast majority of COVID mortality occurs among unvaccinated people.
Source: Our World in Data ourworldindata.org/grapher/united… 10/
Summary:
-there IS a significant increase in excess mortality...due to COVID infection
-there IS NOT a temporal association between vaccines & excess mortality. In fact, quite the opposite: states with the highest vaccination rates had the lowest mortality #VaccinesWork
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Did he have a head CT? What did it show?
Did he have stitches? Tetanus shot?
The NYT ran nonstop stories about Biden’s health after the debate but can’t be bothered to report on the health of someone who was literally shot in the head?
To the people in the replies who say it’s impossible because of “HIPPA” 1. I assume you mean HIPAA 2. A normal presidential candidate would allow his doctors to release the info. This is exactly what happened when Reagan survived an assassination attempt. washingtonpost.com/obituaries/202…
My advice to journalists is to lookup tangential gunshot wounds (TGSW).
Ask questions like:
- what imaging has he had?
- what cognitive assessments?
- has he seen a neurosurgeon or neurologist?
- he’s previously had symptoms like slurred speech, abnormal gait - are these worse?
If you intubate you need to read the #PREOXI trial!
-n=1301 people requiring intubation in ED/ ICU were randomized to preoxygenation with oxygen mask vs non-invasive ventilation (NIV)
-NIV HALVED the risk of hypoxemia: 9 vs 18%
-NIV reduced mortality: 0.2% vs 1.1%
#CCR24
🧵 1/
Hypoxemia (SpO2 <85%) occurs in 10-20% of ED & ICU intubations.
1-2% of intubations performed in ED/ICU result in cardiac arrest!
This is an exceptionally dangerous procedure and preoxygenation is essential to keep patients safe.
But what’s the *BEST* way to preoxygenate? 2/
Most people use a non-rebreather oxygen mask, but because of its loose fit it often delivers much less than 100% FiO2.
NIV (“BiPAP”) delivers a higher FiO2 because of its tight fit. It also delivers PEEP & achieves a higher mean airway pressure which is theoretically helpful! 3/
Results from #PROTECTION presented #CCR24 & published @NEJM.
- DB RCT of amino acid infusion vs placebo in n=3511 people undergoing cardiac surgery w/ bypass.
- Reduced incidence of AKI (26.9% vs 31.7% NNT=20) & need for RRT (1.4% vs 1.9% NNT=200)
Potential game changer!
🧵 1/
I work in a busy CVICU & I often see AKI following cardiac surgery.
Despite risk stratification & hemodynamic optimization, AKI remains one of the most common complications after cardiac surgery with bypass.
Even a modest reduction in AKI/CRRT would be great for my patients. 2/
During cardiac surgery w/ bypass, renal blood flow (RBF) is reduced dramatically. This causes injury, especially in susceptible individuals.
But what if we could use physiology to protect the kidneys?
Renal blood vessels dilate after a high protein meal increasing RBF & GFR! 3/
77 yo with respiratory distress, RR 30, SpO2 80% on non-rebreather at 15 lpm
CXR & TTE are unrevealing
pH 7.58 / PaCO2 24 / PaO2 >500 / HCO3 22
MetHb 0% CarboxyHb 0%
The ABG looks like this:
The answer is sulfhemoglobinemia.
Sulfhemoglobinemia is a *permanently* modified hemoglobin associated with exposure to TMP/SMX, dapsone, phenazopyridine, & other amino & nitro compounds.
It has an altered oxy-hemoglobin dissociation curve.
2/
Sulfhemoglobinemia is easily confused with methemoglobinemia. Both have very dark colored blood & present with cyanosis. Diagnosis typically requires a specialized lab.
Spoiler: you may have heard that SulfHb is green. It isn’t really. You’re thinking of Vulcans’ blood.