Covid-19 3rd leading cause of death among Canadians in 2022

COVID as Leading Cause of Death (Canada & US)

• In Canada 2022, top causes: cancer, heart disease, COVID-19 (~19.7k), accidents, cerebrovascular disease.
• “Other causes” is large but not a single category, so usually excluded from rankings.
• Age pattern: ~91% of COVID deaths in 65+, with a big increase among 80+; deaths in <65 declined.
• US context: in 2021 COVID was 3rd; provisional 2022 data show COVID 4th, down ~47% from 2021 but still substantial.

Mask Effectiveness and Mandates

• One side argues empirical evidence for masks—especially widespread mandates against newer strains—is weak; some see masking as often “performative” due to poor fit/usage.
• Others cite many peer‑reviewed studies (pre‑ and post‑COVID) showing masks, particularly N95/KN95, substantially reduce respiratory transmission; links to curated study lists and public health resources are provided.
• Distinction is made between:
  • Physical efficacy of well‑fitted respirators for an individual, and
  • Population‑level impact of mask policies where adherence and behavior (e.g., unmasking to eat) dilute effects.
• Some stress aerosol transmission dominates; surface/contact transmission appears minor. Ocular transmission is suggested as under‑studied.

Vaccines, Variants, and Immunity

• Several commenters attribute lower deaths to vaccination and partial immunity from past infection, though exact durability estimates vary (months to ~1.5 years).
• Others emphasize that newer variants might simply be less lethal, downplaying vaccine impact, and cite countries with lighter restrictions.
• Personal anecdotes range from severe illness despite multiple boosters to quick recovery after reinfection.

“With vs From” COVID and Data Reliability

• Some suspect overcounting: loose definitions (e.g., “clinically compatible illness,” contribution vs primary cause) and possible financial or bureaucratic incentives are raised.
• Others counter with:
  • Cause‑of‑death tallies closely matching total deaths, implying no large double‑counting.
  • Links debunking claims of systematic inflation (mostly US‑focused but invoked by analogy).
• No consensus is reached; several points remain labeled as unclear due to differing local experiences and definitions.

Euthanasia / MAID and Cause-of-Death Classification

• MAID deaths (~13.2k) are compared numerically to COVID deaths.
• Some argue MAID shouldn’t be a “cause of death” but rather the underlying disease should; others analogize it to suicide (method vs underlying condition like depression).
• Clarification that death certificates typically list immediate and underlying causes; in MAID for terminal illness, the disease is often recorded as the cause.

Healthcare Systems and Medical Error

• Noted discrepancy: “complications of medical/surgical care” appear minor in Canadian stats, whereas some US analyses estimate medical error as a major cause of preventable death.
• Explanations offered: different coding practices, litigation pressures, and more aggressive high‑risk interventions in the US. No firm resolution.

Personal Behavior, Risk Perception, and Other Observations

• Some use COVID’s high rank to justify ongoing mask use despite social pushback; others report that in their hospitals COVID feels low‑salience, with relaxed PPE use.
• Wastewater and outbreak data from Toronto are cited as evidence of currently high transmission.
• Discussion touches on immune “training,” reduced flu deaths during COVID, and the idea that COVID may be displacing influenza as a terminal event in the very old rather than wholly adding risk, though this is not rigorously settled in the thread.