The mainstream media has spent months hyping the dangers of COVID-19. But let’s take a quick look at some numbers, shall we?
For the record, the coronavirus COVID-19 has killed 0.058% of the U.S. population. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said last week that there have been 175,866 deaths “involving” COVID. Of those, 139,009 were 65 years old or older — 79% of the deaths. Add in Americans 55 to 64 years old and the elderly share of the fatalities rises to 91.7%.
The percentage of deaths that are 34 years old and younger — 0.99%.
To be clear, the virus is a danger — to older Americans and those with pre-existing conditions. The CDC said this month that 94% of people killed by the virus had other health conditions contribute to their death.
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Here’s how the Associated Press — for months and months — described the virus: “For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up in a few weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including life-threatening pneumonia.”
Even though the AP has joined the pandemic frightmeisters, the news agency’s description still holds true today.
But the cure — lockdowns, layoffs, stress, anxiety — has become worse than the virus.
Americans are hurting, both physically and mentally. Sleep troubles, lethargy, feelings of hopelessness and other depression symptoms in adults across the U.S. have more than tripled since the pandemic began, according to a study.
“In the weeks after the outbreak prompted quarantines and stay-at-home orders, 27.8% of those surveyed had at least one symptom of depression. That compares to just 8.5% of people in 2017 and 2018,” Yahoo reported.
The pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the mental health of young Americans, according to a recent survey.
“A majority of Americans ages 18 through 34 — 56% — say they have at least sometimes felt isolated in the past month, compared with about 4 in 10 older Americans, according to the latest COVID Response Tracking Study conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago,” WHSV-TV reported.
With businesses shuttered and unemployment soaring, Americans are also hurting financially.
“At least half of all households in [four major] cities — 53 percent in New York City, 56 percent in Los Angeles, 50 percent in Chicago, and 63 percent in Houston — reported facing serious financial problems, including depleted savings, problems paying credit card bills, and affording medical bills,” The Week reported.
Meanwhile, divorce rates have spiked in the U.S. during the coronavirus pandemic as couples have been stuck at close quarters for months.
“The number of people looking for divorces was 34 percent higher from March through June compared to 2019, according to new data collected Legal Templates, a company that provides legal documents,” Fox News reported.
“The data showed that 31 percent of the couples admitted lockdown has caused irreparable damage to their relationships,” Fox wrote.
And things have been worst for young people. “More young adults live at home now than during the Great Depression, according to a Pew Research poll, as 52% reported living with one or both of their parents in July,” according to another Fox report.
“The number of young adults, aged 18 to 29, living at home is now 26.6 million, which is up 2.6 million since the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe in February, when just 47% were living with their parents.”
Then there was this disturbing report: A new study reveals a growing number of young children abusing their parents.
“Researchers from the universities of Oxford and Manchester find this ‘hidden’ problem is intensifying during the pandemic, with the number of violent episodes skyrocketing by 70 percent,” Study Finds reported.
“Researchers say social workers are reporting a 69-percent uptick in referrals for families suffering child or adolescent-to-parent violence,” the site reported. “More than 60 percent of the social workers believe the severity of these violent incidents are increasing too.”
Then there’s alcohol and drug abuse. In June. it was reported that alcohol sales had risen 27% since March 7, one study found. And according to reports by the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program, drug overdoses increased 42% in May alone.
The mainstream media has endlessly hyped only the medical side of COVID-19, with doctors like Anthony Fauci, an immunologist and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who serves on the White House Coronavirus Task Force, saying everything could be locked down — again.
But few news outlets have featured experts to talk about the fallout from shutting down the economy for the last six months, closing schools, retail stores, restaurants, bars, and live music venues.
In the end, the cure has truly been worse than the virus.
*Joseph Curl ran the Drudge Report from 2010 to 2014 and covered the White House for a dozen years. He can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter at @JosephCurl. A version of this article ran previously in The Washington Times.
