Keep COVID death statistics in perspective

This article has been edited from its original publication to correct the percentage equivalent of "1 in 500" to 0.2% instead of the originally published incorrect figure.

Once again, leave it to the alarmist Daily Herald to breathlessly report that "1 in 500 Illinoisans have died from the virus." Certainly a sad and disturbing statistic, especially for those who have lost loved ones to this insidious virus (including my family), but I again have to question, why the steady beat of nonstop fearmongering among the media and Biden administration?

Considering this number from a different perspective, 1 in 500 is equal to 0.2%. Would the headline "0.2% of Illinoisans have died from the virus," have provoked the same fearful reaction clearly sought by the original? I think not.

Again, in what is called a "grim milestone," the Page 1, Oct. 19 story cites the deaths of a total of 25,470 state residents. Although the article doesn't specify, presumably this number covers a period of approximately 19 months, beginning in January 2020. Yet between 2017-2019 (prior to the virus), an average of 108,000 individuals died each year, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. On an annual basis, this statistic represents more than four times the total number who died from the virus; while on a 19-month basis, the average death toll was almost seven times higher.

So, again I have to wonder, would the Daily Herald ever have run a front-page headline two years ago, that read "4 in 500 Illinoisans died from all causes of death in 2019?" I think not.

I think it's time to stop the perpetual panic porn and begin reporting these statistics in perspective

Mary Doetsch

Wheeling