Announcing deaths and no underlying health conditions actual meaning.

[2boysand1princess]

I try not to check but sometimes end up reading an article where they have stated the age groups of those who have died in the last 24 hrs of covid. Occasionally it says something like: 18 died with no underlying health conditions aged 40-90
I’ve noticed that daily there’s at least one case of someone under the age of 50-60 who dies of covid but has no underlying condition.
Could that person have been obese perhaps? Would that be classed as no underlying health condition?

@Northernsoulgirl45 yes other is pretty high
Why can't journalist's bring these things up and ask them to explain

@TillysMum02

Media starting to report younger people dying

Very sad to hear an 8 year old died today from covid.

This is bullshit.

There are ZERO reported deaths in the UK of ANYONE under 18 without a pre reported HC dying or even being seriously ill from covid.

Cut it out.

@TillysMum02

And by pre-reported I mean serious genetic illnesses such as CF/DS.

I have an "other condition" (autoimmune Hashimotos). But it's not caused me even one day off work in the past 8 years and is very well managed. I also have moderate to severe asthma but i've not required oxygen for 3 years (a nebui3at the walk-in one weekend) and just take steroids. Again, no days off. But if I get covid (hugely likely as a weeks away from 50 primary teacher in a tier 4 area) it will be put down to my "existing condition " if I die.

Except it won't be that.

The British heart foundation website has a link to a website which calculates your risk of death from covid. A previous arm or hip fracture increases your risk or death.
I presume it’s either an indicator of frailty or vitamin d deficiency?

A expect a large percentage of the female population suffer from migraines.

Those images shared by the doctor on twitter we're all sourced from ONS/PHE/NHS. For eg, this gives a run down of pre existing conditions and does mention the fractured femur etc.

www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/datasets/deathsinvolvingcovid19englandandwales

My "underlying condition" was slight lung damage due to having had radiotherapy for breast cancer in both breasts. My body flooded my lungs to protect itself from the COVID attack. The docs had to dry my lungs out and teach me to breath again without the need for additional oxygen.

I am no expert, but one explanation for those with mental health being more at risk is that you have to fight to survive - I mean really push yourself to keep breathing. CPAP is a living Hell and some women in my ward couldn't cope with it. If they can't, they immediately place themselves in a more precarious position as the remaining options do not have such good outcomes.

At one stage during my hospital stay, there was a slim woman in her 40s in the next bed. She couldn't deal with CPAP and was on some less beneficial method of oxygen supply. She was moved to ICU and chances of survival dip when that happens. I hope she survived.

Healthy and slim people, who are also young, certainly do end up with long Covid, that's clear from the Facebook support group I've joined. (I don't fit this description, being 51, obese and pre-existing CFS.)

So it's not all that surprising that one of these people might not survive, bearing in mind that many of us had difficulty breathing at various times and had to call an ambulance.

Others ended up in hospital. Without doubt, the majority who were young and fit would have recovered, but it isn't exactly a stretch to see that a few would have died.

I too would like to see an official source for what counts as ‘underlying’ rather than a Twitter feed.

Also, are the stats made up of what appears on a death certificate (which is usually gives us different numbers to the daily reported deaths as there is a lag, so not sure if this is what is counted?)

By that, I mean do we have one method of collecting data - I.e. hospital admission data, risk factor for Covid identified (not ANY underlying condition - just as actual risk factor such as COPD) patient passes away and is recorded as a death with an UC... OR are we saying the stats are collected from death certificates that mention underlying conditions, regardless of whether they contributed towards death of Covid.

My personal feeling would be that it is the former. But would like to see actual evidence if it is the latter.

See the link from ONS I posted above, @Wherediditgo.

@oohmamama "This is bullshit.

There are ZERO reported deaths in the UK of ANYONE under 18 without a pre reported HC dying or even being seriously ill from covid.

Cut it out."

The poster @tillysmum02 did not state that the 8 year old had no pre existing conditions. How about you cut it out and stop looking for things that aren't there in other people's posts?

The poster @tillysmum02 did not state that the 8 year old had no pre existing conditions. How about you cut it out and stop looking for things that aren't there in other people's posts?

^This with bells on. Tillysmum was speaking about the tragedy involved in an 8 year old dying of Covid. Surely it doesn't make it any less of a tragedy that the said 8 year old had pre-existing health problems?

Ffs I broke a bone recently due to trauma. I have been taking vitaminD for years.

I've wondered about the 'no underlying health conditions' caveat - as an example, I have mild asthma, currently totally controlled with inhalers - I can cycle outside in near-freezing conditions without it affecting my lungs, which is brilliant. If I take medication, I can live as if I didn't have it. I've never been hospitalised, nor has it been suggested that it'll shorten my life.

But if I die from Covid, I'll be listed as having an underlying health condition. I wonder how many of those 'with underlying health conditions' are like me rather than already living a very restricted life due to illness - I imagine the latter is what most people think of if asked.

Presenting the stats this way means that a lot of people falsely think that they'll be OK if they get Covid, and therefore ignore the guidelines. Maybe they'd be more inclined to keep 'the rules' if they understood how many people do have an underlying condition. One poster suggested it's probably the majority of those over 50, and that sounds reasonable.

You will be lucky to get to 40 with no underlying health condition, just based upon people I know.

The list for UH condition is so broad even autism counts or a leaning difficulty.

@Witchend

It's not actually underlying health conditions, I believe. It's pre-existing health conditions. These include:

Having had treatment for some mental health condition,
autism or other learning difficulties,
asthma,
chronic kidney disease,
chronic neurological disorders,
chronic lung disease,
dementia,
diabetes,
rheumatological disorders (types of arthritis and other joint conditions),
ischaemic heart disease (angina and heart attacks).

So if you have asthma, along with about 7% of the population in England, then should you die from Covid, you will be classified as having a pre-existing condition.

I screwed then I take medication for mental health and sure there are many more people that do now

@bathorshower

The same is true of my DH, he has mild asthma and various allergies. He's 55 now. He hasn't been off work with a respiratory infection of any sort in over six years. Whereas I, despite not being asthmatic, developed pneumonia after a bad bout of flu in April 2019 leaving me with CFS, and long Covid this year.

I get fed up with all this talk about 'underlying health conditions', as if it means that the person concerned must be at death's door. That just isn't true.

[quote Realllythough]@oohmamama "This is bullshit.

There are ZERO reported deaths in the UK of ANYONE under 18 without a pre reported HC dying or even being seriously ill from covid.

Cut it out."

The poster @tillysmum02 did not state that the 8 year old had no pre existing conditions. How about you cut it out and stop looking for things that aren't there in other people's posts?[/quote]

Her full post was

'Media starting to report younger people dying' then mentioned the 8 year old.

It's a. Bullshit and B. Scaremongering

And @mittens of course it doesn't make it less of a tragedy FFS 🙄