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Photograph ©2015 by Brian Cohen.

This Kills More People Per Year Than The 2019 Novel Coronavirus — and No One Talks About It.

That the 2019 Novel Coronavirus — which is also known as COVID-19 or 2019-nCoV or SARS-CoV-2 or HCoV-19 or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 or whatever you want to call it — has wreaked havoc around the world is obviously no secret, as greater than 2.8 million people have died from the confirmed cases worldwide…

This Kills More People Per Year Than The 2019 Novel Coronavirus — and No One Talks About It.

…but something else is so deadly that it is purported to be the fourth biggest killer in the world — and yet no one seems to discuss it.

The World Health Organization estimates that as many as 8.9 million died from ischaemic heart disease in 2019 — which is the leading cause of death worldwide at approximately 16 percent of all deaths worldwide — followed by stroke, which is number two with eleven percent of all deaths worldwide in 2019.

Although the two aforementioned diseases — although not communicable — greatly outpaced the 2019 Novel Coronavirus, which contributed to the deaths of as many as 2,614,600 in the one year since the pandemic was officially declared by the World Health Organization on Wednesday, March 11, 2020, they are not the topic of this article.

The topic of this article is physical inactivity, which euronews Living claims that is the cause of the deaths of 5.2 million people each year.

That claim seemed somewhat specious; but according to the World Health Organization back on Thursday, February 3, 2011 — yes, greater than ten years ago — that physical inactivity is responsible for:

  • Approximately 3.2 million deaths per year — including 2.6 million deaths in low-income and middle-income countries.
  • Greater than 670,000 premature deaths of people 60 years of age and younger.
  • Being an estimated cause of breast and colon cancer, 27 percent of diabetes, and 30 percent of ischaemic heart disease.

A Look at the Latest Statistics

The latest statistics are that at least 2,787,593 people — or slightly less than 2.19 percent — have died of the minimum of 127,349,248 confirmed cases worldwide, according to this situation dashboard from the World Health Organization pertaining to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus…

…and at the same time, at least 2,801,858 people — or slightly less than 2.19 percent — have died of the minimum of 128,125,926 confirmed cases worldwide, according to this situation dashboard from Johns Hopkins University & Medicine pertaining to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus.

At the time this article was written, at least 547,296 people — or slightly greater than 1.81 percent — have died of the minimum of 30,147,895 confirmed cases in the United States, according to this situation dashboard from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pertaining to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus — and with an estimated population of 331,002,651 people, that means that slightly less than 0.16 percent of the population of the United States have died with it.

The population of the world is currently at almost 7.8 billion people. Using the higher statistics from Johns Hopkins University & Medicine, that means that slightly greater than 1.64 percent of the population have confirmed cases of 2019 Novel Coronavirus, with slightly greater than 0.03 percent of the population having died with it.

Summary

With countless lockdowns, quarantines, and required isolation which have been forcibly imposed on most of the population of the world at various times over the past 13 months, I have to wonder how much physical inactivity occurred — and how many deaths have occurred — as a result.

I am not even counting suicides and other causes of death which have purportedly been linked to the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic.

I repeatedly hear that “we must listen to the science.” I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment. What many people do not seem to understand is that science is much more than a simple conclusion pertaining to only one aspect of an issue. Science is all about debates, experiments, postulates, and proven conclusions — and even then, science can be conflicting with different proven conclusions. For example, remember when we were told for years how bad eggs were to eat due to cholesterol — but now they are good for you when eaten in moderation? Both were claims which have been provided by science…

…so where is the science which provides proven information that living sedentary with physical inactivity as a result of lockdowns, quarantines, and required isolation has contributed to a minimum number of deaths? Has anyone performed a study with proven conclusions? Could the possibility exist that many of the preventive measures which were implemented in an attempt to better control the 2019 Novel Coronavirus may have actually killed more people than the virus itself — especially as physical inactivity is a leading cause of death worldwide? I certainly do not believe that the physical inactivity which resulted from the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic did not contribute to one single death.

That is an aspect of science about which I would like to know, as the number of deaths which were supposedly prevented is only one of many aspects of the overall science pertaining to this pandemic…

…but in the meantime, I will keep taking long walks — as I have done for years, whether traveling or at home — and keeping myself active in other ways whenever possible…

Photograph ©2015 by Brian Cohen.

  1. This may be the most ridiculous thing I’ve read in a while. You actually think no one is talking about heart disease? Billions are spent on it every year in PSAs, research, education – people are very much talking about this all the time. Do you have access to the internet, news, TV, radio?

    I have to give you credit for sneaking in your agenda under the guise of pretending to care about heart disease, though.

    Could you please go into detail about what steps you’re taking to help those in need for mental health support if you’re so concerned? How are you supporting those in your community who may have suicidal ideation beyond using their distress as a talking point to advance your agenda?

    1. I support my community in many ways, Janice

      …and what exactly is my agenda? Please enlighten me, since you know me so well…

      1. Your agenda is to discredit science that you personally don’t like. You do a lot of whataboutism but choose to ignore that Covid has killed more Americans than WWII and every war since. Your arguments that heart disease or whatever else you choose kills more people flatly ignores that your sitting next to someone with diabetes, heart disease, cancer, etc., will not risk your life one iota. Doing the same with someone with Covid actually will risk your life. You continually cherry pick which aspects of science that you like while blatantly ignoring any that you dislike: gravity – awesome, periodic table – sounds good, Covid – nah, ignore it because it doesn’t suit your preconceptions. I’ve frankly avoided your blog for many months due to your willful disregard of inconvenient science but this is too much. I used to greatly admire your blog but when you decide that you know more than scientific experts, you lost me. You owe your readers a huge apology for your mea culpa. They deserve it.

        1. Yes, I noticed that you have avoided reading The Gate, Christian — and that is your prerogative, of course.

          I never said that I personally did not like the science. In fact, I actually agree with much of the science: properly washing hands and distancing are things which I have done for years prior to this pandemic. I have even maintained in numerous articles over the past 15 months that we should indeed be concerned about the 2019 Novel Coronavirus — such as this one from March 6, 2020:

          https://thegatewithbriancohen.com/as-many-as-46000-people-may-have-died-from/

          Despite your assertions, I most certainly have not ignored the 2019 Novel Coronavirus. Rather, I like to attempt to get the full and complete story. Keep an open mind. Start a discussion which provokes thought…

          …but NOT promote any sort of agenda — contrary to what you may believe.

          I assume you read BoardingArea because you travel, right? You do realize that you take risks every day — especially when traveling?

          Finally, there is a distinctly significant difference between “knowing more than scientific experts” and questioning the science. Scientific experts with different viewpoints and evidence do exist pertaining to the current pandemic. Should we ignore them?

          I do not know about you; but I never want to live to see the day when you and I are not allowed to question anything anymore — nor would I stop reading what someone else writes simply because I do not agree with his or her point of view. In fact, that is usually how we learn from each other…

          …but as I said, not reading The Gate is your prerogative. I hope that I have been clearer to you about what I am attempting to do…

      2. Read your own article. It’s dripping with COVID-skeptic words like “purported” (used incorrectly, BTW), and “forcibly imposed”, but keep on pretending that you trust “the science”.

        You are aware that almost all restrictions have allowed for outdoor exercise, right? So either you’ve done no research on this topic or you’re willfully leaving that information out because it doesn’t support your agenda. It seems there’s a lot you didn’t know when writing this blog entry.

        What are you doing for your community? What have you done during this pandemic to address mental health concerns and suicidal ideation of those in crisis? Specific examples, if you please. I’m more than happy to share every detail of what I’ve done as a social worker, family Counsellor, and creator of youth programs that have been running in my community since 2005.

        1. I have no doubt that you have performed extensive and exemplary work as a social worker, family counselor, and creator of youth programs that have been running in your community since 2005, Janice — and I mean that with the utmost in sincerity…

          …but even if you are a psychologist or psychiatrist — which you did not say you are — you are not qualified to analyze — and therefore conclude — who I am as a person from reading one article with which you disagree.

          As for addressing mental health concerns and suicidal ideation of those in crisis: other than the following line…

          “I am not even counting suicides and other causes of death which have purportedly been linked to the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic.”

          …this article has nothing to do with mental health concerns and suicidal ideation of those in crisis. Physical inactivity is the topic.

          I do not have an agenda; and I do not have to pretend that I trust the science. I DO generally trust the science. I just did not realize that I was not allowed to question the science — but I will anyway.

          I stand by what I wrote.

  2. Our children are home educated, and relied on a local gym for 4½ h of cardio a week until their gym was shut down. Their coach is without income, and since swimming and all other sports are on hold, I think many kids are being plunked in front of screens instead. This is not about health at all. I know many people now who have had it, and the media has basically made people afraid of the most common virus on earth. Look into Corona viruses. They’ve been around for a very long time.

  3. If only more people recognized that a healthy, ACTIVE lifestyle coupled with basic sanitary precautions will go a long way toward avoiding most ailments, including Covid.

    That is #SCIENCE far more than the skewed study-of-the-day in place to sway public opinion to blindly accept lockdowns, mask mandates, vaccines, etc. Our bodies are beautifully built to protect us from so much when we let them work as nature intended.

    An over-stressed population has been forced to sacrifice their livelihood and mental health in the ever changing ‘combat Covid’ restriction of the week. And they continue to face decreased health because of restrictions that have kept them indoors and with limited access to recreation.
    For goodness sake… take a walk, people!!!

  4. Home gym equipment purchases have skyrocketed this year. For a long time many equipment were sold out due to high demand. So a lot of people remained active. And who is active at work? Majority of jobs are desk jobs. And walking/running outdoors were never an issue with the lockdowns. People could still do that and if they choose not to, it’s their choice not due to coronavirus lockdowns.

    1. While I have remained outdoors throughout this ordeal – here in the SE United States – many countries and some US cities have had a ban on outdoor activities. And even here, almost all parks closed for months and organized sports ceased, forcing children to be locked indoors. I am glad you and others have been able to compensate with home gym equipment. While it does not come close to exercise in fresh air and sunshine, it is of some benefit. Unfortunately, the millions whose jobs were not not easily adapted virtually but instead destroyed by government intervention now lack the financial wherewithal to even pay for rent or food so I doubt a Peloton fits their budget.

      1. Where in the US has everything berm locked down so tightly that you couldn’t go outside for a walk? From where I live, it looks like your part of the world is pretending this doesn’t exist.

        1. I have friends and family specifically in Pennsylvannia, California, and Oregon who have not been allowed freedom of unmasked, outdoor movement throughout some or all of the shutdown. I am certain there are other locations where local governments chose to forbid the residents the opportunity to freely breathe fresh air in public, taxpayer-funded municipal areas. Even in these areas where you claim we are pretending it does not exist, our parks and recreational facilities were closed for months. Kids were given no provisions for outdoor or recreational experience short of running around in the street – theoretically all alone as we were not supposed to fraternize with neighbors and loved ones. Cue the eye roll.

          Look at the true, unadulterated “official” numbers above. Do you see that .16% of those in the US have died *with* this virus? Point one six percent!!! And for this, we blew up the country. Pure insanity!

      2. …and that point is what some people miss, NB_ga.

        What about those people who lost being with their families? Lost opportunities? Lost time?…

        …or — as is the topic of this article — lost their own lives because of the reaction to the pandemic but NOT because of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus itself?

  5. Grats on the click bait. Everyone has been talking about heart disease since forever. Just because it isn’t front and center doesn’t mean it’s not there.

    Stick to travel deals please!

    1. Your comment only proves that you did not read the entire article, Francis.

      If you did, you would know that the title is clearly not “click bait.”

  6. Goodness, the vitriol in the comments because one presents a different perspective. One dare not say anything that will trump the church of Covid!
    It is true- all you hear in the news is Covid, covid, covid. Heart disease, stroke, hardly a peep from media these days. (And yes, I keep up with the news: print, radio, social media, and tell-a-vision).

    1. Airgypsy, I like the “Church of COVID” touch. It certainly captures the single-mindedness associated with individuals subordinating a range of healthy and necessary activities to the sole (and some would say political) purpose of focusing on one health threat.

      We can debate statistics, but clearly there are differential risks to various categories of people. Subordinating the developmental and emotional needs of younger folks to the vulnerabilities of others is a strong ethical decision that merits debate. Mindless criticism is not in the spirit of scientific debate.

    2. That actually concerns me more than the 2019 Novel Coronavirus, Airgypsy.

      Thank you for your excellent comment. I appreciate it.

  7. You’re right. The exaggeration of Covid is astounding given that more people died worldwide in 2019 from the flu and pnemonia than from Covid. If we look at 2019 death rates and compare them to 2020, they are nearly the same. Covid didn’t kill people who wouldn’t have died from pneumonia or complications from the flu. Most of the stories about ICUs, vents, body trailers, and hospital ships were all hype. That was designed to scare us. Personally, I don’t know anyone who has had Covid despite living in NYC (the supposed epicenter). I never got the flu shot before. I don’t feel the need to get the Covid shot.

  8. You were vaccinated for Yellow Fever because it was REQUIRED FOR YOU TO TRAVEL to certain counties. From your own freakin article:

    “Yellow fever is the only disease specified in the IHR for which countries may require proof of vaccination from travellers as a condition of entry under certain circumstances.”

    Don’t make it seem like you’re pro-health or pro-vaccinations. If the COVID vaccine was required to travel, whether domestic or internationally, I am sure you would be the first to sing it’s praises.

    What vaccines are you gonna claim you’re in favor of next to prove your not anti-vaccine? The ones you had no decision in and received at birth and as a child? “Hey I’m not anti-vaccine because my parents made me get the polio/TDAP/Hepatitis shots (whatever was required when you were young).” You choose to be ignorant only when YOU have a choice/option about vaccines. Stop promoting a false narrative that you actually care.

    1. I was not forced to travel to any country which requires a yellow fever vaccine, Brian CoVid — and therefore, I chose to get one.

      Stop assuming you know who I am as a person by perpetuating false narratives.

  9. Covid19 will go down as one of the biggest man-made disasters in human history.

    I’ve been traveling around the 2nd and 3rd world a lot the last year.
    The damage that has been done – is unbelievable.

    And the people with their laptops in the US and Europe – the don’t care at ALL.
    The world got scared of something.
    The media focused on an opportunity.

    And we ruined the lives of hundreds of millions of people – for something that 99.8% of people survive.

    It’s the worst year every to be a human. I can’t imagine how much dumber we can get as a species.
    ‘We will kill ourselves, and hurt everyone, to save the rich and the privileged from getting sick’

    I hope there is a cold, dark place in hell for Fauci, the CDC and everyone who hurt the world – so the rich could be safe and comfortable in their warm little beds.

  10. Brain great points. all the person i know who had covid seriously or died were obese, who knows had they been able to exercise and weighed even a few pounds less maybe they would of survived, we will never know. Keep up the great work ,and the people I visited in cr said the government was destroying their lives, but I guess other people from different countries here know what’s best for them

  11. No one said you were “forced” to travel to any country which requires a yellow fever vaccine. Nice job spinning the narrative of a vaccine requirement (for certain regions) into it being “forced” upon you.

    Can you elaborate on why you would get the yellow fever vaccine if you were not visiting South America or Africa?

    Have you visited countries which require yellow fever vaccine? If so, your whole “iM pRo vAXx fOr gETtInG tHE YeLlOw fEVer vaCCinE” argument is BS.

    Stop assuming your readers are dumb and can’t deduce the false narratives that you’re trying to spin with these asinine arguments.

    1. Tell you what, Brian CoVid: when you can find concrete evidence in the more than 9,000 articles and thousands of comments which I have written over the years to definitively prove your unfounded accusation that I have assumed that readers of The Gate are dumb — in fact, I have written in numerous articles that they are indeed intelligent and smart; and yes, I do include you as one of them — I will continue this discussion with you…

      …but I am not opposed to vaccines. I stand by that statement. You can choose to not believe me if you wish…

      1. Then continue the discussion by answering the questions and not providing blow hard answers:

        Can you elaborate on why you would get the yellow fever vaccine if you were not visiting South America or Africa? Have you visited countries which require yellow fever vaccine?

        I can only make assertions based on the information you provide. I’m now on my 3rd message with you about how you are masking getting a yellow fever vaccination as proof that you’re pro-vaccines. You just keep dodging the issue and not providing concrete statement or evidence on your position. Saying you received a yellow fever vaccine is just you virtue signaling and trying to cover up that you are anti-vaccine.

        If you are pro-vaccine, and care about trying to protect yourself, your loved ones, friends, neighbors, and society in general, why not get a Covid vaccine? If you are willing to get the yellow fever vaccine, through no official requirement or “force” as you claim, why would you avoid any Covid vaccine?

        1. @BrianCoVid, Not everyone who refuses the Covid vaccine is an anti-vaxxer. Can you appreciate the fact that some of us have safety concerns about these Covid vaccines that are currently only authorized for EMERGENCY use (EUA) and not yet FDA-approved? There is currently no FDA-approved Covid vaccine.

          You know, I would take all my childhood vaccinations again if given an opportunity to choose. I know most of them are effective. I have a friend who recently tested positive for measles antibodies from her childhood measles vaccination. For most of those vaccines, once you get them, then there is almost no question that you’re protected and that you cannot contaminate other people. Can we say the same for these mRNA Covid vaccines- when they’re saying yes, you’re somewhat protected but we don’t know for how long, and yes, you can still get the virus, therefore, you must behave as if you have the virus, so you do not contaminate other people?

          And I’m not saying these mRNA Covid vaccines are not effective or that they are unsafe for the long term. My point is, no one really knows at this point. Even the ‘experts’ don’t know because it is too early to tell. And while it is true that they have gone through multiple phases of studies/trials and that most data point to positive results, some of us, for valid reasons, have an aversion to taking an emergency-use vaccine that has not been FDA-approved, and so this should not be taken against us.

          I am hoping for the best for all of those who have taken the vaccine. They have taken one for the team, so to speak, and I am saying this with all sincerity. By the same token, I wish that those who pressure others and those who deride those who choose to wait out of precaution, would just stop, and accept that an individual can and should make his own decision about his own body. The day that the government, or other people, can mandate what we put into our own bodies would be the end of our medical freedom and the beginning of health tyranny. Slippery slope.

          1. Beautifully said, Airgypsy!

            The mindless “believe what I believe and do what I say” rhetoric that so many of the Covid-panicked are espousing needs to stop. Differing opinions should be seen as a good thing!

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