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hay rick

(7,521 posts)
Thu Jun 9, 2022, 12:26 PM Jun 2022

Florida busted for under-reporting covid deaths early in the pandemic (listen up, Bill Maher).

See the article here: https://sports.yahoo.com/florida-missed-thousands-covid-deaths-175004432.html

From the article:

Florida health officials missed thousands of COVID-19 deaths in 2020, had incomplete information for millions of tests and spent millions of taxpayer dollars on testing that lacked vital data, a state report released Monday has found.

From September 2020 through November 2021, the Florida Auditor General’s office examined nearly 11.3 million laboratory test results and nearly 730,000 coronavirus cases documented statewide in 2020 from March through October.

The investigation found 3,082 COVID deaths the state Health Department did not include in its official counts. Those victims would have pushed the state’s reported death toll up 18% higher than it was Oct. 31, 2020.


This deserves as much attention as DeSantis got when he was taking his victory lap for his anti-mandate, open-for-business, vaccine-agnostic approach earlier. Bill Maher ridiculed states that enforced mandates and prioritized public health on his show in January, pointing out at the time that states as different in approach as West Virginia and Massachusetts ranked 10 and 11 in covid deaths per capita. They now rank 5 and 32- not so close (see statistics here: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1109011/coronavirus-covid19-death-rates-us-by-state/).

Maher also took swipes at New Jersey and New York, comparing them unfavorably with Florida- disregarding the fact that the New York metro area piled up thousands of bodies in the early days of the outbreak before vaccines, during the ppe shortage, and while the medical community was still learning how to treat covid patients. At the time of his show, New Jersey ranked 4 and New York 6 among the states in death statistics. New Jersey is now down to 8 and New York is down to 14. Florida is at 19, but their ranking is looking suspect now that evidence of significant undercounting has emerged.

Perhaps Mr. Maher would like to share an update. He can take off his parroting-Fox-News-talking-points hat and put on his truth-teller hat. C'mon Bill...
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Florida busted for under-reporting covid deaths early in the pandemic (listen up, Bill Maher). (Original Post) hay rick Jun 2022 OP
From what I've seen of Bill Maher gratuitous Jun 2022 #1
+100 Duppers Jun 2022 #4
Let's not forget that a FL epidemiologist lost her job and went to jail... TheRealNorth Jun 2022 #2
Rebekah Jones hay rick Jun 2022 #3

gratuitous

(82,849 posts)
1. From what I've seen of Bill Maher
Thu Jun 9, 2022, 12:38 PM
Jun 2022

If there's anything he hates more than government interference - real or imagined - in his life, it's admitting that he was wrong about something.

TheRealNorth

(9,435 posts)
2. Let's not forget that a FL epidemiologist lost her job and went to jail...
Thu Jun 9, 2022, 12:40 PM
Jun 2022

Trying to expose the manipulation of the numbers.

hay rick

(7,521 posts)
3. Rebekah Jones
Thu Jun 9, 2022, 03:12 PM
Jun 2022

She is not an epidemiologist, she's actually a geographer. She was using her data background to design and maintain Florida's covid dashboard. She is now running against Matt Gaetz for congress.

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