DOCTOR IS IN by Dr. Adil Manzoor OP/ED
The coronavirus has hit virtually every inhabitable area in the world. When you track metrics like this, it makes sense that the more populated regions will be more affected than lesser populated regions. That’s just logic, and reality seems to agree too.
The United States has taken by far the most punishment in North America, but I don’t need to lecture you on that. The European country that has suffered the most is the United Kingdom. There, of course, will be a few raised eyebrows about calling the United Kingdom a country, considering it consists of four countries. But, trust me, that’s the least of our worries now.
The point I wanted to make before I got distracted is the ridiculous gulf between the United States and European countries in terms of COVID cases and deaths. Between themselves, Texas and California have more deaths than all the four countries of the United Kingdom… combined!
What makes that even wilder is that Texas and California have about 1.8 million fewer cases than the whole of the United Kingdom. Now, that’s what you call a tag team! A sad, unfortunate tag team.
The United States has overshadowed Europe in terms of cases and deaths, but that doesn’t mean Europe hasn’t been significantly affected too. This is even more so with the emergence of the Omicron variant.
Many have likened the resurgence of the virus in the United Kingdom, particularly England, to March 2020. Let me refresh your memory real quick about March 2020, lest you forget. This period marked the turning point in the pandemic for several reasons. For starters, that was when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus a pandemic.
We didn’t know what to expect, and it is fair to say the virus surpassed what we could have possibly imagined. March 2020 was marked with fear. We didn’t know anything about the virus, except that it caused a quite dangerous respiratory condition.
People were scrambling, panic-buying, and worrying for the sake of the world. There was a general, over-arching cloud of pessimism that quickly filled the streets of England. The following months absolutely justified these fears. I really shouldn’t get too deep into this.
Let’s get back on track. Right now, restaurants, large gatherings, sporting events, and the like are getting called off in England. And many parts of Europe, too. You already know why. Europe hasn’t had it easy in the last few weeks. Cases are rising, and by implication, hospital beds are piling.
The UK is recording a record number of cases. If it seems like I’m being too particular about the UK, it’s because I am. They are the closest to what we have in the United States now. But despite the staggering spikes in cases, deaths are at an all-time low of all previous waves. The seven-day average, as of December 19, was 111. This number stood at 1,240 on January 24, the last real coronavirus wave in the UK.
Denmark is another high-profile country where cases are on a rapid rise. Like the UK, Denmark also records record numbers in the cases department. However, the seven-day average of deaths is four times less than the virus’ last wave.
I could go all day, bringing up European countries with record cases but all-time low deaths. At this point, the question of if we need to stop tracking cases has become a serious issue. Seriously, do you still think there’s a need to count cases? Both the vaccinated and unvaccinated are getting it in their numbers. Tracking and using ridiculous cases numbers doesn’t seem like the most responsible use of stats.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying we need to stop monitoring coronavirus cases; instead, we should emphasize hospitalizations and deaths. This way, we will get a fairer representation of where we stand.
If we follow this approach, the inference will be that people are getting hospitalized and dying less. However, this is peculiar to vaccinated people. The overwhelming majority of people in hospitals are unvaccinated people.
I’ll say this explicitly – vaccination is still the only feasible way out of this pandemic. The new variants are not respecters of your vaccination status as far as infections go, but the chances of getting seriously ill or dying are extremely lower in vaccinated people. That is clear enough, I reckon.
Please get vaccinated. And stay safe folks.
This article was written by Dr. Adil Manzoor DO, a Board Certified Internist & Board Eligible Pediatrician, who works as a Hospitalist, and Emergency Room Physician. He is also the current President of Garden State Street Medicine, a non-profit organization whose sole purpose is to provide free preventive and acute urgent care services for the homeless. He is also the co-founder of his own unique medical practice Mobile Medicine NJ.
References
· https://www.cdc.gov/
· https://www.google.com/search?q=covid+in+uk&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari
· https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/cases-2019-ncov-eueea
· https://www.statista.com/statistics/1139048/coronavirus-case-rates-in-the-past-7-days-in-europe-by-country/
