Last week I reported analysis of data from the federal Department of Health, which showed that that there were 203,148 cases of COVID-19 in Australia between January 2020 and 25 November 2021. Of these cases, some 2,132 people with the coronavirus died during this period, which equates to one death per 95 cases.
By comparison, a total of 1,463,254 people contracted the virus between 26 November and 31 January 2022, during the initial months of the Omicron wave. Although 1,438 people died with the virus over this period, the death rate was just only one per 1,018 cases. Of those deaths, 86% involved people aged over 70.
The data also excludes the likely hundreds of thousands of COVID cases that have not been officially reported over summer, due to difficulties accessing rapid antigen tests, delays processing PCR tests, and large numbers of extremely mild or asymptomatic infections.
On Friday, The ABC reported that 90% of people surveyed with COVID in the Gold Coast had no symptoms:
The results of a maiden survey project on the Gold Coast revealed yesterday that up to one in six residents have been living with COVID during the peak of the virus in the region.
The survey randomly conducted PCR tests on 117 people on January 22, with 20 testing positive.
Only four of those people reported having any symptoms and only two were aware they had the virus, meaning 90 per cent were unaware they were infected.
A follow-up survey, a week later, performed on 143 random Gold Coast people saw 11 test positive, with six of those reporting symptoms.
Most people in the study with mild or no symptoms were fully vaccinated…
Chief Health Officer John Gerrard said the results showed coronavirus was much more prevalent in the state than test results demonstrated.
The data shows, yet again, that with a highly vaccinated population, COVID is largely a mild disease that primarily effects the elderly.
Hence, it is time to stop living in fear about the virus. There are many other things in life we should be worrying about, such as basic nutrition and exercise.
