CDC Announces They Will Be Rolling Back Collection of Flu Data During the 2020-2021 Season
Phillip Schneider, Staff Writer
Waking Times
Buried in a CDC web page about yearly flu data collection is a message that may come as a surprise. It reads,
“Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this system will suspend data collection for the 2020-21 influenza season.”
The announcement was first added in October, the month typical of a year’s initial uptick in flu cases, peaking between the months of December and February. More specifically, the system they are referring to is called Summary of the Geographical Spread of Influenza which compiles data regarding the geographic locations of flu cases.
Many have taken this to mean that no data will be collected during the 2020-2021 season, but basic data collection has not stopped and is being published weekly on the CDC’s website.
Flu cases are expected to be lower this year because of the coronavirus, spurring some to believe that covid numbers are being inflated.
“Couldn’t make the numbers stack up, now they are counting every influenza death as covid-19,” claims Investment Watch Blog. “Truth is they probably have been for a year.”
It is unclear how many flu cases have been counted among coronavirus numbers, but we do know that in 2020, cases of the flu had an inverse relationship with those of the coronavirus. In other words, as flu numbers went down, coronavirus numbers went up.
“I think we’re probably seeing some impact as far as social distancing, but also this is the time of year where we see it tail off anyway,” said Lexington Emergency Physician Dr. Ryan Stanton last April. “Hand hygiene and the social distancing. All of that will impact other viruses on top of just the coronavirus.”
Debate raged over the legitimacy of official coronavirus numbers as hospitals were paid large sums of money for each cause of death registered as Covid via the CARES act passed by congress.
READ: Senator and Former Minnesota Family Doctor of the Year Being Investigated for Questioning Covid Death Certificates
“ABC10 can verify that hospitals do get reimbursed for coronavirus related care, which unfortunately includes deaths,” admits ABC10, a local Sacramento, California based news station.
Covid deaths tend to be among older people with preexisting conditions like diabetes. Because every death registered with a positive test is logged as an official coronavirus death, it is not always clear whether a death was from covid, with covid, or if the virus was one of many contributing factors.
“The number of deaths related to COVID are probably underestimated, not overestimated,” asserts Dr. David Holcombe, medical director of the Cenla Office of Public Health.
However, medical experts from around the world dispute this claim, arguing that true coronavirus death numbers are difficult to quantify.
“I remember as a junior doctor trying to do death certificates – it’s not always an easy thing […] I don’t, by any stretch of the imagination, think it’s a reason to underplay the severe impact that COVID has on people who have [pre-existing] conditions.” – Australian Federal Deputy Chief Medical Officer Nick Coatsworth [SOURCE]
“The true death rate may be unknown,” reports The Conversation. “In the meantime, we need more detail about what’s being reported in the daily COVID-19 death data, and governments should be transparent about what is (and is not) being counted as a COVID-19 death.”
About the Author
Phillip Schneider is a staff writer and assistant editor for Waking Times. For more of his work, you can visit his Website, Facebook Page, or follow him on the free speech social network Minds.
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