An interesting challenge was posed recently by Steve Kirsch, an entrepreneur and founder of the COVID-19 Early Treatment Fund and the Vaccine Safety Research Foundation, who asked in a tweet if anyone could name just five unvaccinated Amish people who died from COVID-19.
The impact of social upheaval in 2020 is probably understated above. You rightly cover the obvious impact of lockdowns. In addition to that, rumors of deadly pandemics, murder hornets, cities burning, etc, almost certainly resulted in increased demand for news, and increased circulation of a news source like The Budget. (Was Jesus coming back soon?) The fact that these are religious communities, disconnected from the "outside world," does not make them incurious.
Another thought, regarding death reporting and age. When an elderly person dies, it's sad, but it's not necessarily news. (Dog bites man.) When a younger person dies, it's tragic, and might be more likely to be reported. It's not unreasonable to think that elderly deaths were historically under-reported. This would tend to skew the "average age" metric if the communities began a more "comprehensive" death reporting effort, for whatever reason.
I recall that from the earliest reports (Washington state and New York City) that the first to die when covid-19 started circulating were the elderly, especially nursing homes. The authors of the Stein article explain away the "younger than average" deaths in Jan-May with a convenient "underlying conditions" but then seize on the increase in "average age of death" in summer/fall/winter to support the narrative that "Covid did it."
I can find out when it started and what region it covers, but there is also a local "hotline" that sends out death notifications to the Amish community. I would surmise this reports a larger percentage of the deaths in the Amish population of Holmes county, Ohio, than The Budget.
Speaking of "protection," I think one key facet is missing: I assure you, they are not asking for the government to offer protection from a disease--as if they are a helpless group of people with no ability to make rational decisions themselves. Granted, some are MUCH more isolated from the news of the world then others, but they aren't a helpless subpopulation that must be protected by the benevolent, all-knowing government.
The impact of social upheaval in 2020 is probably understated above. You rightly cover the obvious impact of lockdowns. In addition to that, rumors of deadly pandemics, murder hornets, cities burning, etc, almost certainly resulted in increased demand for news, and increased circulation of a news source like The Budget. (Was Jesus coming back soon?) The fact that these are religious communities, disconnected from the "outside world," does not make them incurious.
Another thought, regarding death reporting and age. When an elderly person dies, it's sad, but it's not necessarily news. (Dog bites man.) When a younger person dies, it's tragic, and might be more likely to be reported. It's not unreasonable to think that elderly deaths were historically under-reported. This would tend to skew the "average age" metric if the communities began a more "comprehensive" death reporting effort, for whatever reason.
I recall that from the earliest reports (Washington state and New York City) that the first to die when covid-19 started circulating were the elderly, especially nursing homes. The authors of the Stein article explain away the "younger than average" deaths in Jan-May with a convenient "underlying conditions" but then seize on the increase in "average age of death" in summer/fall/winter to support the narrative that "Covid did it."
I can find out when it started and what region it covers, but there is also a local "hotline" that sends out death notifications to the Amish community. I would surmise this reports a larger percentage of the deaths in the Amish population of Holmes county, Ohio, than The Budget.
Speaking of "protection," I think one key facet is missing: I assure you, they are not asking for the government to offer protection from a disease--as if they are a helpless group of people with no ability to make rational decisions themselves. Granted, some are MUCH more isolated from the news of the world then others, but they aren't a helpless subpopulation that must be protected by the benevolent, all-knowing government.
Excellent work!!!!!!!!