Not to be said

When my father-in-law was in intensive care in Oxford in a coma, he was cared for by a Filipino nurse who told us she was caring for Brian as if he was her own father.  She explained that her father had also had a head injury and gone into a coma in the Philippines, but he had died.  We were very grateful for her meticulous care.  We were also reminded just how fortunate we are to live in a wealthy country which can afford intensive care.

The current health crisis reminded me that over the years life expectancy in the west has crept up higher and higher.  Very often we are kept alive by extensive medical interventions.  Without these interventions I would probably have died in my late teens.

Average Life expectancy in the UK

It is therefore perhaps not a surprise to see who is most at risk when it comes to a virus that can be both meek, and savage at the same time.

Dementia is the most common complicating factor at 20%

The death rate falls across the year, but is inflated through late March and April 2020.

This is hard to take.  Hence in the west we are hiding indoors.  In time we will discover what the true cost has been and the full range of suffering round the world.  Is anyone counting?

I am interested that the risk of death is almost twice the rate for males compared with females.  Risks across the ethnicities go like this:- Chinese females (lowest risk) to Black males (highest risk).  Dual Heritage and White have similar risks.) However there are countries round the world, such as India (Kerala) where it has been noted that death rates are low.  Even in Brazil where the government has been heavily criticised for it's right-wing nonchalance, the death rate has been surprisingly low in the crowded flavelas of Rio.

Theories to date.

Risks are in this order
1) Medical Vulnerability
2) Age
3) Gender
3) Sociological factors
4) Genetics (blood type)
5) Climate?  Smoking? (both good and bad)

Pandemic Proverb,
"It is as much use to own a second home, as to it is own a star, except the star can look after itself."