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In reply to the discussion: Got a guy telling me Higher Death rate in 34 states in 2018 flu than in Corona Virus [View all]Hortensis
(58,785 posts)those figures are useful for looking at COVID v flu deaths. They're clearly for deaths CONFIRMED at the time by testing or by whoever's doing the diagnosis to be due to COVID or flu. Before the CDC works its mathic.
As the Scientific American blog described explains, when the CDC's algorithm is applied to estimate how many deaths were PRECIPITATED by the flu -- deaths that weren't directly due to flu but presumably wouldn't have happened without it (pneumonia most common), that 15,000 dead in a very bad year is turned into 60,000 total impact.
Valid figures, but being used invalidly. What the Republicans, and almost everyone else, are doing in comparing the counts you posted to the CDC's flu impact estimates is like comparing each specific COVID apple to an algorithmic 10-pound bag of flu apples.