Letter to the editor: US is not 'leading world' in covid-19 deaths

Death! Our media proclaim that the U.S. leads the world in covid-19 deaths and that it’s President Trump’s fault. The article “‘Unfathomable’: U.S. death toll from coronavirus hits 200,000” shockingly equated it as equivalent to a 9/11 every day for 67 days.

But we are a nation of 330 million people. Of course we have a higher death toll than say, the U.K., with 66 million. We have five times more people. But multiply the U.K. covid-19 death toll by 5 to adjust for population and the sum is 210,000 dead. Using the same parameters, Italy’s toll would be 198,000, Brazil 235,000, Spain 227,000 and Sweden 194,000.

It’s beyond coincidence that the U.S. covid death rate according to population is just about the same in many countries. The real question is, why aren’t we higher than average, given that we are the global hub of airline traffic, tourism and commerce which “mainlined” infection into our country?

According to the CDC, smoking kills nearly 500,000 in the U.S. annually, not to mention the astronomical costs of related diseases. In Pennsylvania, the perennial death toll from smoking is 22,000, and so far from covid-19, 8,300. If you are like me, you don’t know anyone who died from covid-19, but you can name a dozen deaths by smoking.

“Two weeks to flatten the curve” was an insidious lie. The gullibility of our citizens is frightening. Sweden never shut down completely, is on its way to developing herd immunity and is getting back to normal.

Dan Shellhammer

Allegheny Township, Westmoreland County