There is no doubt that the Covid data on new cases and deaths is unreliable. Under the Medicare reimbursement system, health care providers are incentivized to code even "probable" Covid cases as a new case. He's an example given to me by a family member who is an ophthalmologist: a patient comes in for treatment for an eye infection. After the usual questions, the patient states they also have a slight fever or sore throat. She could code the patient visit as probable Covid and get reimbursed from Medicare at a great rate than the discounted insurance rate for an eye infection. She doesn't do that due to her ethics, but she also doesn't doubt that it is occurring with regularity. I don't dispute the existence of a virus and I make sure my 75 year mother, who also has an underlying condition, takes care of herself. But, as someone who has no underlying conditions and is very healthy, I don't pay attention to the current case counts. They're unreliable and meaningless.
