This insanity is endless...

[sinkov]

"Comparison between countries is difficult."

We're not agreeing on much these days OC, so I've deliberately highlighted something we can agree on. The methods of quantifying and collating Covid deaths varies so much from country to country, and I believe from state to state in the USA, that it makes any comparison virtually meaningless. This quite possibly applies to the four UK countries as well.

So we're in agreement OC, happy days.

[oldcolner]

"Comparison between countries is difficult."

We're not agreeing on much these days OC, so I've deliberately highlighted something we can agree on. The methods of quantifying and collating Covid deaths varies so much from country to country, and I believe from state to state in the USA, that it makes any comparison virtually meaningless. This quite possibly applies to the four UK countries as well.

So we're in agreement OC, happy days.

Great!
Stats are useful to those who collect them as they define what they need, but as you say once others collect to different definitions they are only good for comparing within countries.
We have fiddled ours a couple of times with initially only counting hospitals a relatively small number of collecting points, but anyone who had had COVID counted however long ago, then adding GPs and Care Homes, as hospitals couldn’t cope and patients were left at home or transferred out, then introducing the 28 day limit for COVID tests to reduce numbers.
A lot of other countries have changed too and we are now testing much more, more per capita than most big counties.

[sinkov]

Great!
Stats are useful to those who collect them as they define what they need, but as you say once others collect to different definitions they are only good for comparing within countries.
We have fiddled ours a couple of times with initially only counting hospitals a relatively small number of collecting points, but anyone who had had COVID counted however long ago, then adding GPs and Care Homes, as hospitals couldn’t cope and patients were left at home or transferred out, then introducing the 28 day limit for COVID tests to reduce numbers.
A lot of other countries have changed too and we are now testing much more, more per capita than most big counties.

I can remember reading, sometime around May I think, that a comparison of UK deaths with France was pointless, because at that time the French didn't count deaths in Care Homes in their official figures, but they were going to count them from June, or maybe it was July, can't remember. But how many more instances like this are there worldwide ? The official stats are a can of worms, they can't be trusted or relied on, but life or death decisions are being made on the basis of them.

I notice that Glum and Glummer have been called in today to face a Select Committee to explain their dodgy graph that bounced Boris into locking us down. Could be interesting, from what I've been reading, their stats are very dodgy indeed.