CORONAVIRUS PANIC WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE

[Poopadoop]

I agree, it's a bit misleading how they talk about it, but they're simply using a shorthand to express that the underlying causes of pneumonia can be communally spread, which then go on to cause pneumonia in some subset of the infected.

Again, look to the definition of pneumonia. If it is not itself a virus, bacteria, or fungus, then how exactly is it spreading? You may again say, well that's just semantics, but I'd again say that in this case semantics actually matter because the distinction is at the heart of what we are (were) discussing.

Same argument can be made about the common cold, afaik it's up to >100 different viruses that can cause it now. Still, no-one tries to argue you can't 'catch' it.

Edit: And there are arguments the common cold is similar to pneum. in the respect that you continually harbor viruses capable of causing it, which only start the party when you're particularly susceptible.

[Poopadoop]

Here's another example: I had mono (glandular fever in the UK) when I was 18. Suddenly I also got strep throat that knocked me on my ass to the extent my throat was swollen to the point I couldn't swallow food. Was that a coincidence, or because the mono had f'd my immune system?

We also know strep type viruses are pretty much living in us all the time. So if you ask me, being sick from mono let the strep go wild. I think it's the same with CV and pneum.

[boost]

Same argument can be made about the common cold, afaik it's up to >100 different viruses that can cause it now. Still, no-one tries to argue you can't 'catch' it.

Edit: And there are arguments the common cold is similar to pneum. in the respect that you continually harbor viruses capable of causing it, which only start the party when you're particularly susceptible.

Yeah, I may have made a misstep in saying "you can't catch pneumonia." Let's walk back to the start of this tangent: wuf asked "is it possible pneumonia deaths are being misattributed to Covid-19." This implies a fundamental misunderstanding of what pneumonia is vs what Covid-19 is. It would make sense to ask the same question with "non-Covid-19 pneumonia" substituted in, but not understanding that pneumonia and ARDS are the ways in which Covid kills can lead to some unfortunate misunderstandings.

[Poopadoop]

Yeah, I may have made a misstep in saying "you can't catch pneumonia." Let's walk back to the start of this tangent: wuf asked "is it possible pneumonia deaths are being misattributed to Covid-19." This implies a fundamental misunderstanding of what pneumonia is vs what Covid-19 is. It would make sense to ask the same question with "non-Covid-19 pneumonia" substituted in, but not understanding that pneumonia and ARDS are the ways in which Covid kills can lead to some unfortunate misunderstandings.

Yes, it's confusing, and I don't doubt the exact number of deaths due to CV are being numerated ineffecively in some sense all over the world.

Perhaps the question itself is ill-formed: "are some pneum. deaths wrongly ascribed to CV?" to me is akin to asking 'did we miscount deaths from smallpox?" The answer in either case can be simplified to 'did you notice a difference?" or more scientifically to "how many died that weren't expected to die anyways? Is the illness rate enough that we note a big difference in people dying from vague (e.g. , pneum). causes?". If the answer is a big fat ' absolutely , yes' then the conclusion is inescapable imo.

At this point in the game it's a moot question imo.