avatarBill Myers

Summary

Governor DeSantis' claim that COVID hospitalization statistics are inflated due to incidental COVID cases is challenged, with evidence suggesting that such cases do indeed burden the healthcare system.

Abstract

The article critically examines Governor DeSantis' assertion that COVID hospitalization rates are artificially high because they include patients admitted for other reasons who test positive for COVID. It argues that this perspective is misleading because incidental COVID cases increase the strain on hospitals. These patients require additional treatment for COVID, isolation measures, and potentially longer hospital stays, which can exacerbate their original condition and occupy critical care resources. The piece concludes that all COVID cases should be counted due to the increased demand they place on healthcare facilities and staff, questioning whether the Governor's remarks stem from ignorance or a deliberate attempt to mislead for political advantage.

Opinions

  • The article suggests that Governor DeSantis' reasoning about COVID hospitalization rates is flawed and potentially misleading.
  • It posits that incidental COVID cases in hospitals are not benign and contribute significantly to the healthcare system's burden.
  • The author implies that Governor DeSantis may be either misinformed or intentionally spreading false information for political gain.
  • The piece emphasizes that COVID patients, regardless of their initial reason for hospital admission, require resources that could otherwise be used for non-COVID patients.
  • The author leaves the judgment of the Governor's intentions to the reader, indicating a belief that the facts speak for themselves in contradicting the Governor's claim.

COVID

Governor DeSantis: Is His Remark Due to Ignorance or a Sinister Lie?

He claims that COVID hospitalizations stats are too high. Simplistic logic and wrong!

Photo by Stephen Dawson on Unsplash

It is easy to lie with statistics. One can easily present false conclusions due to an error, mathematical or logical. It is hard to see through the wrong conclusion to reality, whether due to a lie or an ignorant mistake.

The news just said that Governor DeSantis has claimed that COVID hospitalization rates are too high because people going to a hospital for something else are tested and counted as if they were hospitalized for COVID. They would have been there, with or without COVID, and should not be counted. On the surface, that seems like a logical conclusion.

However, that conclusion is false. If someone goes into the hospital for something else and is diagnosed at that time with COVID, they suddenly add to the hospital’s load:

  • The patient must be treated for COVID in addition to the original reason for admission
  • The patient will have to be isolated
  • COVID itself may extend the hospital stay
  • COVID may cause the original problem to deteriorate or not heal as quickly, thus extending the stay
  • The patient may need an ICU when they didn’t before

So, since COVID uses more staff time and more facilities, it takes treatment away from other patients. For that reason, all cases should be counted.

Either the Governor is ignorant of these possibilities or is intentionally lying for political gain. I’ll leave it to the reader to determine which.

Other Articles in the Same Category

Politics
Covid-19
Statistics
Hospitalization
Deception
Recommended from ReadMedium
avatarOssiana Tepfenhart
Korea’s Shocking Incel Problem Is So Much Worse Than You Think

No, for real, this is terrifying.

10 min read
avatarKarolina Kozmana
Common side effects of not drinking

By rejecting alcohol, you reject something very human, an extra limb that we have collectively grown to deal with reality and with each…

10 min read
avatarJennifer Hartmann
The Question That Ended My Marriage

In a rare moment of vulnerability, I asked my husband this question, and knew I’d just empowered us to divorce.

6 min read
avatarAlan Garde MF
No More Cigarettes. It’s Over.

I’m quitting cigarettes for good this time after 22 years and countless “attempts” to quit smoking. Here’s the why and how.

4 min read
avatarClem Samson
Scientists: There Is No Life After Death

Nor is there a God. There also is no other intelligent life in the universe. We are utterly alone, on a journey with one and only one…

4 min read
avatarTessa Schlesinger Global Atheist Am Yisrael Chai.
How Do You Recognize Someone Truly Intelligent?

There is only one characteristic that separates them from others.

8 min read