I was trolling through the news headlines today to determine what to write about. One news article caught my attention – “In warning to U.S., COVID rates soar after Denmark lifts all restrictions.”

I knew Denmark had lifted most if not all restrictions recently. I knew that the Omicron variant is more infectious than previous variants of SARS-CoV-2. I knew that many places in the world are seeing receding rates of infections and deaths from coronavirus because the Omicron variant has run its course. So, what was the article about?

I did not know that Denmark has the highest level of vaccinated citizens (over 80%), not that 90% of those now infected are fully vaccinated. That last percentage was not mentioned in the article. Additionally, 99.8% of Danes have survived the pandemic virus!

Denmark Lifts Restrictions

https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1492924522730639364/photo/1. I see continual efforts to flag coronavirus as a deadly killer. It is! There is no doubt about that. However, it is not as fatal today as during the first three months of this pandemic.

We know that the most vulnerable are those over 60 years of age with multiple health issues. Those are the ones that required protection. And most of them have had their COVID shots and booster.
Denmark’s officials know these same facts. So, what is going on in Denmark that has some people inflamed with the need to paint a picture of doom and gloom for them lifting restrictions and allowing the Danes a chance to return to near normalcy?

A graph was inserted in the article that shows Denmark recording more COVID-19 cases per capita than anywhere else in the world. And COVID hospitalizations and deaths have shot up by a third.
“Not looking good in Denmark,” was one caption attributed to the director of the Scripps Translational Institute. “Deaths are now 67% of peak, with a steep ascent,” further described the Danish situation.

Danish COVID Stats

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/denmark/. I checked my primary source of COVID-19 statistics to see the big picture – not one comparing rates per million or percent of previous surges. The first thing I noticed was that 99.8% of all Danes survived COVID-19. That is impressive and better than just about anywhere else in the world.

They have a half-million people being treated for mild coronavirus symptoms and only 31 people in a serious condition requiring hospitalization. Again, impressive numbers. Since the first of 2022, the total number of cases of COVID-19 has risen from around 800,000 to 2.25 million – a significant number!

Denmark had recorded roughly 3,200 deaths for people who died with or because of coronavirus as of the first of January 2022. Today, the total number of deaths is less than a thousand more. Approximately one-quarter of Danish deaths have happened this year.

This week’s death total of 30 people (seven-day rolling average) is less than the height of daily deaths nearly a year ago when new COVID-19 cases topped 3,200/day compared to today’s new case total of over 43,000/day.

In terms of deaths/million citizens, the Delta variant recorded six people per million compared to four people per million for the Omicron variant. The cases of COVID-19 reported for the Delta variant are about one-tenth of the Omicron variant.

Let’s look at hospitalizations. Twenty-three to twenty-four people per one million Danish citizens were hospitalized daily during the more lethal Delta variant. This month, the hospitalizations topped out briefly under fifteen/day and are currently around five/day.

United States and COVID-19

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/. A very short while ago, there were over 800,000 new cases/day of COVID-19 in the United States. This week, the total is less than 140,000 new cases. Daily COVID-19 deaths have dropped from a seven-day rolling average of around 2,600/day to just slightly above 2,000/day and continue to fall. Reported deaths lag new cases by 10-14 days.

United Kingdom and COVID-19

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/uk/. New cases of COVID-19 topped out just over 180,000/day (seven-day average) a short while ago. Today, the average number of new cases of COVID-19 is averaging almost 50,000/day. Daily deaths have decreased from around 260/day to 160/day over this period. However, nearly a year ago, daily deaths averaged over 1,200/day.

Denmark COVID Testing

https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/experts-denmark-punished-for-its-efficient-covid-19-testing/. Denmark tests more people than the United States and the United Kingdom on a per capita basis. They also have more effective testing methods than other countries.

As such, Denmark is catching flak from other countries because they take extra measures to ensure the infection is really a coronavirus infection. In addition, many countries are underreporting infections because of inferior test methods, and the level of testing is significantly lower.

Conclusion

Maybe Denmark has reached a level that ‘pandemic’ is no longer an applicable term. They may have achieved the endemic level for their country. All countries have the right to protect their people as they deem appropriate. Denmark is doing what it thinks is prudent and reasonable.

The Omicron variant has produced a tremendous surge in new cases in a country with over 82% of its citizens double vaccinated and 80% boosted. In addition, over 90% of senior citizens in Denmark have been protected by vaccinations and booster shots.

Remember, it was not long ago that experts told us that vaccinations would protect everyone from becoming infected. Oh, they are still telling us that today!
https://www.riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/modern-day-censorship/more-than-90-of-omicron-cases-in-denmark-are-vaccinated-individuals-government-data-show/. The data not being reported is that 90% of new COVID-19 cases are in people who have been vaccinated

Fifty-six percent of those double vaccinated have contracted over 60% of other coronavirus variants and nearly 80% of the Omicron variant. Additionally, a quarter of those receiving booster shots have been documented with 10% of the Omicron virus, while less than nine percent of the unvaccinated Danes have been infected with Omicron. Still, 99.8% of Danes survived COVID-19! https://twitter.com/MakisMD/status/1472856530139561987?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1472856530139561987%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.riotimesonline.com%2Fbrazil-news%2Fmodern-day-censorship%2Fmore-than-90-of-omicron-cases-in-denmark-are-vaccinated-individuals-government-data-show%2F

Vaccines and boosters do not prevent infections, hospitalizations, and deaths from the pandemic virus. Do they lower the risk? Probably. It is hard to state that a person did not become infected or enter the hospital because of a vaccine or booster shot. It is impossible to prove a negative.

As with most news, time will tell how correctly things were reported. Fortunately, there are many records available to review for comparison’s sake.

Live Longer & Enjoy Life! – Red O’Laughlin – RedOLaughlin.com

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