AI6YR BenScientific American: COVID probably killed 150,000 more people in its first two years than official U.S. tolls show
We have severely undercounted the number of COVID deaths, scientists say (March 18, 2026)
McNadoMD@ai6yr can confirm. I have a spreadsheet somewhere showing all deaths at my hospital after a patient was admitted, broken down by cause. I did the audits and was very conservative in my assignment of cause when it came to, say, COVID vs COVID+ with bacterial sepsis on admission, or COVID+ with massive hemorrhagic stroke. In 2021, 45% of our inpatient deaths were clearly from COVID. Many of the remaining were probably also, but I wasn’t looking at COVID at the time.
Nicole ParsonsCertain jobs need to be reclassified as "high risk, high exposure"
Teachers, for example, are on strike in Mexico for higher pay, & rightfully so. Teaching has a high exposure risk profile for contagious disease & isn't yet compensated accordingly.
Doubly so for health care workers. The pay should be commensurate with the level of hazard.
People jobs are seeing recruiting problems. Child care. Nursing. Fast food.
Is any job is worth a 5th case of covid?
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https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12981522/
Repeated exposure to covid exhausts the immune system and increases the risk of heart attacks & strokes.
Add that to billionaires funding 'herd immunity' & antivaxxer disinformation for partisan gain & certain workers will die at higher rates, needlessly.
Koch Network
https://bylinetimes.com/2020/10/09/climate-science-denial-network-behind-great-barrington-declaration/
https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2021/09/13/covid-19-and-the-new-merchants-of-doubt/
https://www.democracynow.org/2021/12/23/koch_hijacked_war_on_covid
Georg and Emily von Opel
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/dark-money-investigations/tory-billionaire-bankrolled-herd-immunity-scientist-who-advised-pm-against-lockdown/
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Six years after covid was declared a global pandemic, classrooms, hospitals etc remain as vectors for respiratory disease outbreaks.
Until actuaries & insurance underwriters get involved, these workplaces won't get air purification systems installed or other mitigation practices for workplace safety.
As evidence grows, workers compensation programs may get hit with sizable increases in premiums.
Liability insurance for forcing workers to be in offices during a pandemic will be reshaped.