A dose of perspective regarding COVID-19

The old saying "the first casualty of war is truth" has a 2020 equivalent: The first casualty of pandemic is perspective.

It is difficult to keep a perspective this fall as we're deluged with weekly reports on the rising threat of COVID-19 — like one Wednesday that told us: "At least 52 people in Racine County [Wisconsin] died from COVID-19 in November, the most in any month by far since the beginning of the pandemic … ."

The report went on to say there were 5,323 new coronavirus cases during the month, a record that broke the 3,000 new cases mark in October and that more than 29% of the COVID-19 tests during the month came back positive.

County officials called the numbers alarming, and they came on the heels of a Washington Post report the week before that said nine states had hit a "grim marker" of having more than one person for every 1,000 residents who had died of coronavirus-related causes.

Nationwide, the U.S. COVID-19 death toll reached 271,000, a number growing at a rate of 2,500 deaths per day.

Grim, indeed. Makes us wonder about getting out of bed in the morning — much less stepping out the door.

But the drumbeat of bad news needs a little perspective. Take the reports of states that have recorded more than one death for every 1,000 residents. That tells us that 999 residents haven't died from COVID-19.

Here in Racine County, total deaths from coronavirus reached 169 at midweek. With a county population of 196,000, that means chances of dying from COVID-19 were 0.086%.

Now consider national statistics that show you have a 1 in 6 chance of dying from heart disease.

Or that your odds of dying in a car accident are about 1 in 102.

It's true that COVID-19 deaths will likely vault to near the top of national mortality rates this year — some news reports we have seen say it will likely be third, behind cancer and heart disease.

But it's also true that, as COVID vaccines arrive, the overall risk of death from the virus over your lifetime will likely drop — at least that is the hope.

It's important to note, too, that the COVID deaths we have seen are largely among the elderly (and yes, they should be put near the top of the list for those who receive the vaccines early). A study published last week concluded that children accounted for only 1.7% of COVID-19 hospitalizations, and had a death rate of only 0.01% — even though children account for about 22% of the nation's population. Those numbers advance the arguments for reopening schools.

Those are some of the perspectives we don't often see in the breathless reporting of bad COVID numbers each day. Yes, we will continue to mask up and socially distance; yes, we will be wary when we're out grocery shopping; yes, we'll limit Christmas gatherings this year.

But, we'll also be taking a deep breath through our mask-covered faces and try to maintain a little perspective.

FROM AN EDITORIAL IN THE (RACINE, WIS.) JOURNAL TIMES