So, how did that story start? Several sources, seemingly independently from one-another, have published graphs showing how the daily COVID-19 death rate compares to average daily deaths from other causes. Author of one graph, Dr. Maria Danilychev, M.D., has stressed that her graph is not statistically valid, it's just a visual aid to show how many lives the novel coronavirus is taking day by day, already surpassing other causes.
On average, heart disease kills 1,774 Americans daily, while cancer claims 1,641 lives. Meanwhile, on April 8 COVID-19 has surpassed both those causes, topping the list with 1,940 deaths. Since then the number has even increased, now with peak at 2,056 on Friday.
So, why is the claim inaccurate? Numbers for other causes are average daily figures, not peak numbers. At the same time, numbers for COVID-19 are for peak days, while average numbers are far, far smaller. It doesn't mean we shouldn't worry about it, but keeping everything in perspective is important. That's why the CDC informed that the claim is false and no comparison should be made at this point, especially when taking into account how dynamic the situation is.
By Dr. Maria Danilychev, M.D.
