• Surely we can't still be using linear y scales after all this time

  • If the graph is aiming to show that deaths are back to pre-covid levels (which I'm assuming, granted), would a logarithmic axis be beneficial? I can see the reasoning for monitoring & making predictions in the case of deaths increasing at an increasing rate. But the graph looks to show that it's relatively stable (though those troughs make it tricky to be accurate on that). I have no idea on the actual validity of the underlying data btw, but from looking at the graph I don't see the issue with a linear axis.

  • Given the noise levels inherent in the 'died 28 days after a Covid diagnosis' metric, and the relatively small numbers involved, I can't see it'd make much difference either way. At the moment the case numbers are rocketing, the hospitalisation numbers are increasingly very slightly, and the deaths numbers are effectively flat. HMG is gambling that this will remain the case. Hopefully they're correct. Whether they are or not, I don't think anyone really knows.

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