Comparison of Covid-19 Using Rates - Essay Example

Comparison of Covid-19 Using Rates

Using Rates for Internal Comparison: Part 2

The section endeavors to express Covid-19 cases as a percent of the population, Covid-19 deaths as a percent of the cases, and find Covid-19 deaths per 100,000 people for the U.S. and one country doing better, and one that is doing worse than the U.S.

Covid-19 cases as a percent of the population = (Covid-19 cases / Population) x 100

Covid-19 deaths as a percent of the cases = (Covid-19 deaths / Cases) x 100

Covid-19 deaths per 100,000 people = (Covid-19 deaths / Population) x 100,000

According to Countrymeters (2020), the current U.S. population is 334,568,336. As of the 4th of September, 2020, the U.S had reported 6,335,244 cases of coronavirus infection and 191,058 deaths (Elflein, 2020a; b a and b).

Table 1

U.S. Covid-19 Cases as a percent of the Population, Covid-19 Deaths as a Percent of the Cases, and Covid-19 Deaths per 100, 000 People

Country

Population

Covid-19 Cases

Covid-19 Cases as a percent of the Population

Covid-19 Deaths

Covid-19 Deaths as a percent of the Cases

Covid-19 Deaths per 100,000 People

The U.S.

334,568,336

6,335,244

1.89

191,058

3.02

57.11

Germany: A Country that has fared better than the U.S.

Germany reported 248,814 cases and 9,399 deaths from Covid-19 by the 4th of September, 2020 (Elflein, 2020a; b a and b). The country has a current population of 81,488,498 (Countrymeters, 2020).

Table 2

Germany Covid-19 Cases as a Percent of the Population, Covid-19 Deaths as a Percent of the Cases, and Covid-19 Deaths per 100, 000 People

Country

Population

Covid-19 Cases

Covid-19 Cases as a percent of the Population

Covid-19 Deaths

Covid-19 Deaths as a percent of the Cases

Covid-19 Deaths per 100,000 People

Germany

81,488,498

248,814

0.31

9,399

3.78

11.53

Peru: A Country that has fared worse than the U.S.

Peru has reported 670,145 cases and 29,405 deaths from Covid-19 (Elflein, 2020a; b a and b). Peru’s current population is 33,584,159 (Countrymeters, 2020).

Table 3

Peru Covid-19 cases as a percent of the population, covid-19 deaths as a percent of the cases, and covid-19 deaths per 100, 000 people

Country

Population

Covid-19 Cases

Covid-19 Cases as a percent of the Population

Covid-19 Deaths

Covid-19 Deaths as a percent of the Cases

Covid-19 Deaths per 100,000 People

Peru

33,584,159

670,145

2

29,405

4.39

87.56

Peru has done poorly in the prevalence of Covid-19 compared to the U.S. The country has a higher infection rate of 2% than the U.S., which has an infection rate of 1.86%. Germany has done better than the U.S. since it has an infection rate of 0.31%. Also, Peru has a higher mortality rate than the U.S. In every 100,000 people, 87 are likely to die of Covid-19 in Peru while in the U.S., about 57 are likely to die due to Covid-19. In Germany, which is doing better than the U.S., only 11 people are likely to die from Covid-19 in 100,000 people. Peru has the most severe coronavirus infection compared to the U.S. 4.39% deaths result from the reported cases in Peru. In contrast, in the U.S., only 3.02% of the infected people die from the virus. It implies that Germany has taken better measures to prevent more infections and care for Covid-19 patients than the U.S., while the U.S. has better preventive and care strategies than Peru.

Using Rates for Comparison about Testing: Part 3

Percent of Positive Tests in the U.S

As of the 4th of September, 2020, the U.S. had done 84,881,529 tests for Covid-19 (Elflein, 2020c). It can be compared to two countries: Brazil, which has a higher percentage of positive cases, and the U.K., which has a lower percentage of positive cases.

Table 4

Percentage of positive Covid-19 cases in the U.S., Brazil, and the U.K.

Country

Covid-19 Tests

Covid-19 Positive Cases

Percentage of Covid-19 Positive Cases

The U.S.

84,881,529

6,335,244

7.46

Brazil (a country with a higher percentage of positive cases than the U.S.)

14,408,116

4,046150

28.08

U.K. (a country with a lower percentage of positive cases than the U.S.)

17,619,897

340411

1.93

Tests and cases figures adopted from Elflein (2020a; c)

The U.S. has done a higher number of Covid-19 tests than Brazil and the U.K. It has a higher percentage of positive cases, 7.46%, than the U.K., which has 1.93%. Although Brazil has fewer tests than the U.S., it has 28.08% of positive cases, higher than the 7.46% of the U.S. Thus, completing many tests does not necessarily mean that a country will record a higher number of cases.

Comparison of Total Number of Tests with the Total Population and the Total Number of Cases

Table 5

Total number of tests as a percentage of population and ratio of the total number of tests to the total number of cases for the U.S., Russia, and Israel

Country

Total Population

Total Number of Tests

Number of Tests as a percent of Population

Total Number of Positive Cases

Total Number of Tests to Total Number of Cases

The U.S.

334,568,336

84,881,529

25.37

6,335,244

13.4

Russia

146,610,964

37,484,146

25.57

1,009,995

37.11

Israel

8,787,303

2,388,574

27.18

124,455

19.19

Population figures adopted from Countrymeters. (2020); Covid-19 total number of tests and the total number of cases adopted from Elflein (2020b; c)

In terms of the number of tests as a percentage of the population, the three countries, the U.S., Russia, and Israel, are doing well with a percentage above 25. It implies that the countries have already tested a quarter of their population for Covid-19. In comparing the tests to cases, the U.S. records one case in approximately every 13th test. On the other hand, Russia and Israel are likely to record one case of Covid-19 in the 37th and 19th samples tested, respectively.

Report: Part 4

The U.S. is doing relatively well in handling the Covid-19 pandemic. Although the virus has infected a significant number of its population, which is 1.89%, the fatality of the infection, which is 3.02% of the confirmed cases, is considerably low given than it is lower than 3.78% observed in Germany. Notably, Germany is considered one of the world countries that have handled the coronavirus pandemic more effectively.

Moreover, the U.S. has the third-largest population in the world. However, it has managed to test 25.37% of the population for Covid-19, which represents more than a quarter of the total population. Among the tested samples, only 7.46% have turned positive, which implies that the U.S. rate is not as high as in Brazil, which has recorded 28.08% of positive cases from the completed tests. Considerably, the U.S. is among the nations such as Russia and Israel that have the highest number of tests in the world in relation to their population sizes.