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Questions and answers in Craig’s ongoing COVID-19 crisis, Part 3

This week: Local doctors, the search for ulterior motives and the flu.

Moffat County Public Health Nurse Becky Copeland administers a Moderna COVID-19 vaccination to a Moffat County resident during Public Health’s drive-thru vaccination clinic at the Moffat County Fairgrounds in this Craig Press file photo.
Craig Press file

While COVID-19 cases climbed last week a bit slower than previous weeks, medical professionals continue to warn of the danger of the virus, which an autopsy report shows killed a 24-year-old in Moffat County in June.

In this ongoing series, the Craig Press looks to find answers to common questions about the COVID-19 vaccine and the virus it’s been engineered to prevent.

Do local doctors suggest taking the vaccine?

The statement: A lot of doctors are against the vaccine or aren’t getting vaccinated themselves — they’re just being silenced.



Memorial Regional Health: The majority of our healthcare providers (doctors and physician’s assistants) strongly advocate for getting the vaccine.

Aren’t hospitals compensated for COVID-19 patients, and wouldn’t that encourage them to bump up the diagnosis count?

The statement: The hospital gets money for COVID-19 patients and deaths, so they’re inflating the numbers for their gain.



MRH: False. MRH does not get paid based on diagnosis. MRH gets paid based on the cost of providing care. If a patient is admitted to a higher level of care like the special care unit (SCU) or the COVID unit, those areas are considered more intensive and a higher level of care. People are admitted to the SCU for reasons other than COVID, such as diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). There is no premium payment for COVID diagnoses.

I keep hearing about COVID COVID COVID, but is it any different than the regular flu?

The statement: COVID is really just the common cold/the flu.

MRH: False. (see http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/index.html#:~:text=While%20the%20impact%20of%20flu,61%2C000%20deaths%20annually%20since%202010)

Annually, the flu causes between 9 million and 45 million cases, between 140,000 and 810,000 hospitalizations, and between 12,000 and 61,000 deaths. This is based upon data reported since 2010. Since early 2020, when COVID first began in the United States (15 months ago), we’ve seen 33.6 million positive cases and 604,000 deaths.

Are we really having this many COVID deaths or is someone fluffing up the numbers?

The statement: COVID deaths are being overstated or over-reported.

MRH: False. (see www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/excess_deaths.htm)

Look at excess deaths (see graph at the above website).

In early 2020, the number of excess deaths started to rise. The reason this debunks the myth that COVID is overstated is because this is a multi-year look-back at the number of deaths occuring. Yes, many people (95%) who die from COVID-19 also have other issues listed and/or contributing. We’ve said all along that those with comorbidities, or who are older, are much more likely to develop severe and/or lethal cases.

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