Am *I* Just Blind Or Stupid?!

COVID Treatments, Vaccines, and Mortality: A Data-Driven Perspective

As we look back at the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s tempting to credit vaccines alone for reducing lethality. A closer look at numbers and treatment evolution paints a more nuanced picture.

Early 2020: Ventilator Era

From Feb–Apr 2020, doctors had very little data. COVID lungs often behaved differently than classic pneumonia: blood-oxygen mismatches, micro-clots, and inflammation were common. Early intubation was standard, which contributed to very high mortality. Many patients were deteriorating before treatments like steroids, anticoagulation, or proning were recognized as effective.

Mid-2020: First Effective Treatments

By June 2020, evidence-based interventions began reducing deaths significantly:

  • Dexamethasone (Steroids, June 2020): Reduced death by 20–35% in severe cases.
  • Anticoagulation: Blood thinners countered COVID-related micro-clotting, reducing strokes, heart attacks, and sudden respiratory collapse.
  • High-flow oxygen: Many patients avoided early intubation, lowering mortality.
  • Proning: Simple face-down positioning improved oxygenation without ventilators.

Late 2020: Refined Early Outpatient Care

Doctors implemented better strategies to prevent hospitalization:

  • Steroids only for severe cases.
  • Home oxygen monitoring for high-risk patients.
  • Early anticoagulation and monoclonal antibodies to prevent progression.

As a result, fewer patients progressed to “blue-lips” emergency situations.

2021: Vaccine Rollout and Reduced Severe Disease

Vaccines became widely available starting December 2020. By mid-2021, roughly 50% of adults were fully vaccinated, rising above 80% with at least one dose by late 2021. Vaccination proportedly dramatically reduced severe cases, inflammation, clotting, and organ complications. However, much of the reduction in lethality had already begun due to treatment improvements in 2020.

Heart Disease and Cardiovascular Mortality

COVID itself caused major cardiovascular complications. Looking at CDC and AHA data:

YearAge-Adjusted Heart Disease Death Rate (per 100k)% Change from Prior Year
2019161.5-1.3%
2020168.2+4.1%
2021173.8+3.4%
2022169.8-2.3%
2023 (prelim)167.9-0.9%

Excess deaths peaked in 2020–2021 due to COVID and delayed care. By 2022–2023, better treatment protocols, broader immunity, and vaccines reduced cardiovascular mortality toward pre-pandemic levels.

Vitamins and Early Interventions

Doctors recommending vitamin D, zinc, or vitamin C faced pushback from regulatory agencies, mostly due to limited large-scale trial evidence. Many patients who developed severe COVID were vitamin D deficient, which is now recognized as a real risk factor. Correcting deficiencies is safe and may improve outcomes, though it is not a cure.

Hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin

Early in 2020, these drugs were used experimentally. By mid-2020, large trials showed no significant benefit. Public and regulatory criticism peaked through early 2021 but largely subsided by 2022 as standard, evidence-based treatment protocols became the norm.

Financial Incentives and Reporting

Hospitals did receive higher reimbursements for treating COVID patients early on, particularly for ventilated patients, but there was no financial incentive tied to death certificate reporting. Some over-attribution may have occurred, but excess-death analyses confirm COVID mortality spikes were real and, in fact, likely undercounted early in the pandemic.

Conclusion: Treatments vs. Vaccines

It’s clear that early treatment — steroids, anticoagulation, high-flow oxygen, proning, monoclonals, and correcting deficiencies — played a huge role in reducing COVID lethality. Vaccines may have prevented severe disease (I'm not convinced) but were part of a larger picture of earlier interventions (Doctors were attacked for using the treatments that are now undeniable). Over-crediting vaccines alone oversimplifies the story. (And let's not forget that we have deaths associated with the vaccine now undeniably) Understanding what truly worked helps prepare for future respiratory pandemics and saves lives without distortion.

– A pondering with ChatGPT

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