Hacker News Reader

Comment by libraryatnight | Hacker News Reader

My moms co-worker got it. Now 2 of his family is dead after he spread it. One of those was a 24 year old athlete. Can we PLEASE stop adding to noise on the internet with our opinions and pet projects?

Young, healthy, fit people are getting this and dying. Your hypothesis may be accurate overall, I do not know, but frankly it's noise nobody needs.

View on HN

Nationwide in the US in 2020, 7,151 people under the age of 45 have died after Covid diagnosis. Under the age of 25, only 528 people have died.

During the same time period, over 50,000 people under age 25 have died from all causes:

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid_weekly/index.htm

The odds that I die after getting hit by a bus are presumably infinitesimal, yet I still don't make a habit of hanging out in traffic.

The odds that you die after getting hit by a bus are presumably quite high.

How can we fight a widespread infection using emotional anecdotes instead of statistics?

An emotional anecdote conveys the personal impact of an issue. It helps with empathy, something OP is not demonstrating. Statistics do back that it is possible for young people to die of COVID, albeit less likely than older people.

I have a significant amount empathy which is why I have invested personal time and actual dollars in building this site and engaging in professional discussions.

My empathy is primarily towards the people who have worked hard for what they have only to have it ripped away because of arbitrary government decisions.

Regardless, the people who have passed directly from and because of this disease is a tragic story in the history of our country.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com