According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there were no deaths surprisingly due to influenza between January and March 2022. During this same period, deaths due to pneumonia were 10.3 per cent lower than the baseline. Deaths in March alone decreased by 16.4 per cent below the baseline average.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics defines influenza as a viral infection and a common cause of pneumonia. Pneumonia can be caused by a virus, bacteria or fungi. Covid-19 is defined as a respiratory infection.
Since the pandemic was declared through to 31 May 2022, a total of 373,637 people have died in Australia from various causes such as cancers and heart attacks. Of these deaths, 1.9 per cent (6,968) were said to have died with or from covid-19. The total number of deaths that included the term covid on the death certificate amounted to 7,086. Covid-19 related deaths included 839 deaths where the person died with covid, but it was not the underlying cause.
Males accounted for more than half of covid-related deaths (3,552). The highest number of covid-related deaths occurred in people aged 80-89, with a median age of 84.2 years. More than half of these deaths involved pre-existing chronic conditions. This included 67.1 per cent involving pneumonia (also a complication of the flu). People who were classed as the most disadvantaged based on the Socio-economic index (SEIFA) accounted for three times the deaths of those in the least disadvantaged areas.
The Australian life expectancy for males is 81.2 years, and for females, 85.3 years. These figures should be considered when discussing covid-related deaths for this age group.
Victoria accounted for 43.6 per cent of the total covid-related deaths in Australia to 31 May 2022. This is despite Victoria having one of the most prolonged and severe measures to ‘stop the spread’.
The Sunday Herald Sun recently reported results of covid data provided by the Victorian State Government. The data showed that between 1 January and 25 May 2022, 1,742 Victorians died with covid. Of those, 558 (32%) were either unvaccinated, or the status was not known. A further 53 (3%) had one dose, 720 (41%) were double jabbed, and a further 411 (24%) were triple jabbed.
The Sunday Herald Sun noted that a Department of Health spokesman had stressed that covid deaths should be put into context, with 5.1 million Victorians over 16 years of age double jabbed. They further stated that unvaccinated Victorians numbered in the several hundred thousand, suggesting the unvaccinated were at heightened risk of covid.
Notably, of the deaths recorded as being due to covid, only 6.1 per cent listed covid as the only cause of death. Of all the deaths, there is no clear data breakdown showing precisely how many unvaccinated deaths recorded covid as the sole cause. Given this, caution should be taken when assuming that unvaccinated are at greater risk.
A recent human challenge study conducted by the Imperial College London took 36 healthy, young participants with no immunity to covid. The researchers infected the 36 participants with covid and then monitored each participant from the time of infection through to recovery. The study found that 18 participants became infected, with 16 of those developing mild-to-moderate cold-like symptoms. None of the study participants developed severe symptoms.
Given the increasing knowledge around covid, and based on the figures above, it would appear that whilst covid may be a causal factor in a small number of deaths, the stringent measures that have been put in place across Australia are out of step with the actual risk of the virus. Mandatory vaccination policies that target working-age people do little in terms of influencing rates of transmission or illness. Especially given the age group, most at risk from covid are aged over 80 years. This fact also begs the question of why governments are pushing forward with vaccinating children as young as three years of age when there is clearly no scientific evidence to show this age group is at risk.