So Sweden is doing about as good (or bad) as L.A. county (roughly the same population), but L.A. county went through
a 2.5 month stay-at-home order. What is different about Sweden that they achieved the same curve without a lock-down?
So Sweden is doing about as good (or bad) as L.A. county (roughly the same population), but L.A. county went through
a 2.5 month stay-at-home order. What is different about Sweden that they achieved the same curve without a lock-down?
How many hospital beds does Sweden have compared to L.A. County?
How Many ICU Beds does LA County have compared to Sweden?
How many mechanical ventilators does LA County have compared to Sweden?
How easy is it for LA County to get more ventulators if needed compared to Sweden?
How easy is it for LA County to create more beds compared to Sweden?
What is the quality of the healthcare in Sweden compared to L.A. county?
The whole point of social distancing, stay at home orders, is to prevent COVID19 from overwhelming the health system. A overwhelmed health system leads to more deaths generally, not just COVID deaths. I think it is safe to say that the Healthcare system in LA County does not have as many beds, nor as many ventilators compared to Sweden. How those ICU are distributed and who gets their use also matters. Some ICUs, are exclusively used for. For example some are used for infants, kids and pregnancies.
The real challenge of COVID19 is how long a patient stays
A small percentage of people each year who catch the flu, need a a mechanical ventilator. They need a bed for an average of a week. Some more, some less. COVID19 is more infectious, a higher percentage of those infected need hospitalization, a higher percentage needs a ventilator. People hospitalized by COVID19 have a longer stay, thus taking up a hospital bed for longer. And lets be clear, it was not like these Ventilators, ICUs and hospital beds were sitting empty before COVID19.
Here is what you should do. How many people, in total, have died this year, compared to the average of the last 20-50 years? If the number is significantly higher, this is due to COVID19 directly or indirectly. When the health system is overwhelmed, it means a car crash victim who would normally get a ICU bed, a mechanical ventilator if needed does not get one. A person going to hospital may not get the same level of care because the staff is overwhelmed with cases and procedures that slow there response time.