As of this writing, there were 134,521 confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally. 4,970 of those patients died and 68,927 fully recovered. That means the mortality rate globally for COVID-19 is 3.69%.

In the US, there had been 1,670 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 40 cases proving fatal and 30 patients recovering fully. That means the mortality rate in the US for COVID-19 is 2.40%.

These rates are only taking into account CONFIRMED cases and do not include cases that went undiagnosed because the symptoms experienced by the patient were so mild that the patient believed they simply had a cold.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testified this week that the COVID-19 mortality rate is 10 times greater than that of the flu, which Dr. Fauci stated was approximately 0.1% (for the flu). This means that the COVID-19 mortality rate, as estimated by the professionals leading the US response to the outbreak, is approximately 1.0%; a number that includes estimates for minimally symptomatic or asymptomatic cases of COVID-19.

If you read the headlines proliferating news feeds, cable news tickers, and national newspapers, you likely only heard that the COVID-19 had a mortality rate 10 times that of the flu. What you did not hear was that the mortality rate for COVID-19 was revised down from between 2%-4% to 1%. If you are between 40-49 the mortality rate plummets to 0.4%, and patients under 39 are realizing a 0.2% mortality rate.

This is a major reason I started 1776 Analysis. The lead to the story from Dr. Fauci’s testimony is that the COVID-19 virus has a lower mortality rate than previously thought. That fact is in every article that I have read about Dr. Fauci’s testimony, but it is buried deep in the body of the text, while the headlines all include the fact that the mortality rate is 10 times greater than the flu.

COVID-19 is serious, especially if you are over 60 with pre-existing cardiovascular issues, diabetes, respiratory disease, or hypertension. If you are under 60 and otherwise healthy, there is no reason for you to be buying your local Walmart out of toilet paper.