Doctors’ Political Leanings

I saw a fascinating chart that sets forth which American doctors are Republicans and which are Democrats. The chart is reprinted below.

With regard to the widespread advocacy of lockdowns and masks, as well as other political manipulations, the results are interesting. Note that infectious disease doctors are over 75% Democrat.

Is this fake news? It seems unlikely; the data was originally published in the New York Times (who does a lot of fake newsing), but it was compiled by researchers at Yale. 

The chart summarizing the leading causes of death in the U.S. from 2015 to 2020 is also interesting.

This table was forwarded to me by my longevity doctor, Peter Attia, MD. He asked the question: Was COVID-19 the only culprit behind the extraordinary increase in deaths last year?

He notes that the total number of deaths in 2020 was 3.4 million, compared with 2.9 million in 2019, which is over 500,000 more deaths and an 18% increase. Did COVID-19 account for all of the increases?

No. Heart disease was up by 32,000 deaths, a 5% increase. Cancer deaths were flat. Accidental deaths—automobile accidents, falls, and drug overdose deaths typically make up the bulk of this number—account for nearly 20,000 more deaths, an 11% increase. Fatal strokes were up 6%, with 9,000 more deaths.

Diabetes accounted for more than 13,000 deaths, up 15% from 2019. Influenza and pneumonia accounted for nearly 4,000 additional deaths, an increase of 8%. There were also 3,000 more suicides, which is a 6% increase.

This is surprising because, given all the people sequestered in isolation and people wearing masks, you would have thought that influenza and pneumonia would have gone down, not up. Many of the “recommendations” about staying at home, social distancing, frequent handwashing, wearing masks, etc., presumably should also have reduced the transmission of flu and pneumonia.

These numbers should remind us to question and carefully analyze data, especially when the issue in question has been politicized.