Correcting the Record on Pediatric Covid ICU Cases in Mississippi
Regardless of Media Panic, Children Remain Resilient to Covid
As the “Unofficial Covid Statistician in Chief for the Armstrong and Getty Radio Show” I have often complimented the hosts on their overall coverage of the pandemic the last 18 months. They’ve shown concern without panic, and been critical without being conspiratorial. Above all their coverage has been fact based. This made it all the more frustrating to hear then parrot the media fear narrative when they broadcasted a complete falsehood about kids in ICU with Covid in Mississippi. So I encouraged them to correct the record.
During the 9 o'clock hour of Wednesday's show Jack stated that there were 7 kids in an ICU with Covid in Mississippi, with the implication that this was due to low vaccination rates among adults in the state. Unfortunately, no sources were ever given, so I'm unable to independently verify where Jack got this information.
What I do know is that this is a repeat of a lie that has spread on social media over the last week or so. Luckily for us, the data is public making debunking easy.
Based on Publicly Available Government Data, we find that as of today there are only 6 children (<18yo) in the entire state of Mississippi who are in the Hospital with a confirmed positive Covid test. Studies from the CDC and the UK NIH tell us that nearly half of children hospitalized "with" Covid are there for something entirely unrelated and are simply asymptomatic positives.
That leaves us with likely 3 children in the hospital with a symptomatic Covid infection and given the minuscule pediatric Covid ICU rates it's likely that none of these children are currently in the PICU.
It appears that the likely source of the misinformation, who deleted their original tweet provided this cryptic correction:
This appears to state the error was 7 kids in ICU (total) and separately 7 kids hospitalized with Covid. Again in the entire state.
I can guarantee you that fear mongers will use this misinformation to keep kids out of school this fall. Don't help them.
In the face of this fear mongering here are some facts were should all remember:
Over the entire 18 months of the pandemic, there have been fewer pediatric Covid deaths than there are typical annual pediatric flu deaths.
There is as of yet Zero Data suggesting that the "Delta/Indian" variant is any more dangerous for children.
An unvaccinated child is at less risk from Covid than a vaccinated 30 year old.
I'll end by repeating what I said in February:
"The Covid End Game is Endemic Covid. The disease will continue to spread around the world and become the 5th endemic Coronvirus that we will deal with rather easily every Cold/Flu season."
We are seeing a repeat of last year. A seasonal summer covid wave spreading mostly in the southern states, but attenuated this year by vaccines and natural immunity. Everyone seems to think that Covid is just going to disappear one day, but it won't. The Pandemic is over, it's now Endemic.
This fall we will have another seasonal wave roll through just like last year. I'm concerned that given what they have been told people will panic. But the vulnerable have vaccines or already got the thing. It's just another part of the seasonal respiratory disease mix now.
It's time to admit this, turn off the hysteria and live our lives.
Anyway 0 and 2...