The Meaningless Meaning of “(COVID)-Cases”

The Meaningless Meaning of “(COVID)-Cases”--Dr. Klaus L.E. Kaiser

“Most interesting, at least in my mind is that “evidence of pneumonia” – by this definition alone (see below) — now qualifies as a clinical evidence of COVID-19 ‘infection.’”
– Dr. Klaus L.E. Kaiser

...Each day, we’re bombarded (I’d say ad nauseam) with reports & news of more COVID-19 “cases,” whatever that term means.

You’d think that this term would be well defined, here, there and everywhere. I wish you luck in finding a standard, generally accepted definition of it. If you succeed, please let me know.

But, don’t despair, there’s a cure for it. Big Pharma is “on the case.”

Some Definitions of “Cases”

• First, let’s see how Wikipedia defines it: Searching Wikipedia for the definition of “case,” at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case (accessed on Dec. 29, 2020, 6:21 pm EST) in this context. I could not find any reference to COVID-19, or any other medical meaning of the term “case” – none at all!
• The CDC (U.S. Centers for Decease Control and Prevention); again just searching for a definition of the term “case” provides only such for Listeriosis: https://wwwn.cdc.gov/nndss/conditions/listeriosis/case-definition/2019/ ). No mention of COVID-19 – none at all.
• Undeterred, further checking found a CDC definition, dating back to April, 2020, (https://wwwn.cdc.gov/nndss/conditions/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/case-definition/2020/ ) answering my quest. There, it states, under the Headlines (also accessed on Dec. 29, 2020) as follows :
• “Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), 2020 Interim Case Definition, Approved April 5, 2020”:

Most interesting, at least in my mind is that “evidence of pneumonia” – by this definition alone — now qualifies as a clinical evidence of COVID-19 “infection.”

...That truly begs the question:

What differentiates the “common flu” from “COVID-19?”

As far as I can reckon, the answer to that question is hard to come by.

Both the “flu” and COVID-19,” diagnosed via the unspecific “PCR” (polymerase-chain-reaction test), appear to test for similar or, perhaps even identical, biological fragments in one’s body.

What’s of interesting significance in that regard is also a recent report in the journal Nature that states, inter alia,

“In May [2020], at the tail end of the first wave of COVID-19 deaths in many nations, and when some of the strictest lockdowns were in place, health workers noted an abrupt and early halt to the 2019–20 flu season in the Northern Hemisphere.”

...For another opinion along this line of thought, A. Firstenberg summarized that in a recent post with the title “The Wrong Pandemic.”...Read all!