May 7, 2021
An outfit whose statistical models were used to justify early Covid-19 lockdowns is now arguing that the true death toll of the pandemic is far higher than the official numbers – and closer to their own apocalyptic predictions.
Covid-19 has killed more than 900,000 Americans and over 6.9 million people worldwide, the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) claimed on Thursday, citing their own statistical models based on excess mortality.
By contrast, official figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University list 3.24 million deaths globally, of which 580,000 are in the US, as of May 6.
With this total COVID-19 mortality adjustment, these are the countries that we estimate currently have the highest total COVID-19 deaths .vs. reported COVID-19 deaths: pic.twitter.com/v7af0kO6Ab
10 things you need to know today: May 7, 2021 Harold Maass
1.
President Biden made a public pitch for support of his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan in strongly Republican Louisiana on Thursday, using a 70-year-old bridge in the city of Lake Charles as a backdrop. Biden has proposed paying for his plan by raising taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations, rejecting the conservative argument that lowering their taxes boosts economic growth. Biden has invited Republicans to discuss his plan and their $568 billion counterproposal. I m willing to hear ideas from both sides, Biden said. I m ready to compromise. What I m not ready to do is, I m not ready to do nothing. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Republicans would rather pay for infrastructure with user fees, and that 100 percent of his focus is on stopping Biden s agenda. [
Mediaite’s
Tommy Christopher asked the team about the study, which estimated that the United States’ true coronavirus death toll is at more than 900,000 far more than what has been reported.
The study, conducted by the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), reported that the United States death toll was undercounted by some 300,000 deaths while the worldwide death toll is nearly 7 million more than twice the reported number of 3.24 million.
The toll calculated by the study examined excess deaths during the pandemic, though it only factored in deaths “caused directly by the SARS-CoV-2 virus,” and “not deaths caused by the pandemic’s disruption to health care systems and communities.”