Alabama Had More Deaths Than Births in 2020 | Hacker News Reader

Alabama Had More Deaths Than Births in 2020

npr.org

57 pointscolinprince64 comments

Why are they singling out Alabama to try and fit their narrative? Several US States [1] are in a similar position.

[1] https://carsey.unh.edu/publication/snapshot/2020-deaths-exce...

Because people will click on articles where the headline validates their pre-existing beliefs.

From the headline ("A Grim First For The State"), Alabama is highlighted because it's the first time this has happened in that state. Several states in that map also had births exceed deaths in 2019.

Sure. Still seems awfully manufactured even for someone who enjoys NPR. It's about what's not covered as much as what is covered.

Seems it got covered just because the state's health officer said mentioned it in a health briefing. The nationwide analysis was done months ago.

The good citizens of Alabama pay their top health officials to single out Alabama for their attention.

Several = 25

Yeah, the deaths are high, but the story here is "deaths > births"... and you only get that story when births are pretty low.

That ain't gonna do away once covid-19 leaves the cause-of-death tables.

It would be good to a couple years of birth rate and death rate. Maybe it’s just a drop in baby-making. Or maybe not. Maybe births are up since last year too.

I wonder if it’s just deaths or if there’s a decline in births as well. I could see a lot of families put off having kids for fear of packed hospitals or other restrictions.

Covid death rate is 1 for every 477 people (US population / US covid deaths)... given that those deaths are not being distributed equally it's not surprising

Birth rate had a significant fall off, but the death rate is high, even if you substitute in previous years birth rates, deaths would still be more than births.

Share a link for 2020? I can find 2019 here [https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/healthstats/assets/atagl...] showing: Live Births 58,615 Deaths 54,109

2020 deaths totalling 64,714 is way up, would shrink the state in 2019 (pre-pandemic) too.

If Covid isn’t dangerous, or is just a hoax, an explanation for the extra 10,000 or so deaths would be really useful.

the 2020 stats were in the article.

What about net migration? It would be easy for a state that received a lot of retirees to grow every year despite more deaths than births.

That sort of surprises me. On worldometers, Alabama's per capita death rate isn't that unusual. It's ranked 5th and roughly on par with, e.g. Massachusetts. And that's now counting Delta variant and its likely higher percentage unvaccinated population; I don't think I remember it being so high in 2020.

So what's the story? Higher death rate than other states excluding covid? Very low birth rate? It's also the case for other states and just not mentioned here?

Alabama is fifth highest in deaths per million by state, and I'd assume that this is simply an issue of birth rates. Combine that with a lot of poor drug addicts, and you have your answer.

Without covid the population change from births and deaths would’ve stayed nearly flat in 2020. Covid added 8-10k deaths (I couldn’t find a source to easily calculate this, sorry.)

Alabama isn’t alone, though; 25 states had the same problem last year. Here’s a map. https://carsey.unh.edu/publication/snapshot/2020-deaths-exce...

> Alabama isn’t alone, though; 25 states had the same problem last year.

Very interesting. I wonder if the reason this narrative about Alabama catches so many eyes is because it plays into negative biases about Alabama, and other similar southern US states.

It's sad for the people that continue to believe the Vax'd politicians and Fox news / Other source pundits also Vax'd that there is a conspiracy. Sadly we won't see mass murder charges against said vax'd pundits. But you reap what your beliefs sew.

> But you reap what your beliefs sew.

The typical order for natural fiber clothing is actually:

1. Sow

2. Reap

3. Sew

Remember when (now) vice president Harris and all of the other channels' pundits were loudly proclaiming that they wouldn't dare take the vaccine because the wrong political party championed it, and that the FDA and CDC couldn't be trusted?

Remember when we were told by the Director of NIAID that masks wouldnt help? Or that we only needed just so many people to reach herd immunity, but that was later revealed to be an intentional lie so he could later increase the number without it sounding as scary?

Remember when the mayors of DC, LA, SF and a dozen other cities, along with the governors of several states, mandated wearing face masks, then were, on multiple occasions, caught in public settings indoors not social distancing or wearing masks?

Remember when several members of congress were caught putting on face masks for a photo, then immediately removing them again?

Remember the Emmys where none of the stars wore masks but all of the "help" had to?

You reap what you sow indeed. It is amazing that anyone trusts anyone anymore.

Do you have links to any of these?

https://www.businessinsider.com/democratic-politicians-who-v...

There's a list of 14 politicians, limited to Democrats since they're the ones most often imposing the mandates. A list of republicans would be rather redundant in this case, but it is worth pointing out they are no strangers to hypocracy either, of course.

Harris never said she didn’t trust the CDC or FDA. She specifically said she didn’t trust Trump, and would take a vaccine when it was recommended by CDC and FDA.

>“If the public health professionals, if Dr. [Anthony] Fauci, if the doctors tell us that we should take it, I’ll be the first in line to take it. Absolutely,” Harris said during the live debate in Salt Lake City, when she was asked if Americans should take a vaccine, if the Trump administration were to approve one either before or after the election. “But if Donald Trump tells us that we should take it. I’m not taking it.”

That seems like a perfectly reasonable stance. If Biden was promoting some other medical treatment against the advice of the FDA, I'd be skeptical of that too.

https://news.yahoo.com/kamala-harris-says-she-wont-take-covi...

So you won't be getting a vaccine booster?

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/31/biden-booster-plan-...

"The Biden administration’s decisions over when to administer coronavirus vaccine boosters are triggering turmoil within the Food and Drug Administration, frustrating regulators and sparking fear that political pressures will once again override the agency’s expertise."

If my doctor and reputable public health experts disagree with the FDA (or with scientists who resigned from the FDA in protest), that could certainly be enough to overcome my skepticism. I'd have to consider it on a case-by-case basis.

What wouldn't convince me is the president's opinion on the matter.

Even if the President is interfering with the job of those same public health agencies? That was my entire point and why people were quoting the FDA.

Not all reputable public health experts work for public health agencies.

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