"They didn't really die of COVID."
There is a standard line among COVID deniers and antivaxxers that, if someone had a pre-existing health condition and then contracted COVID, they "didn't really die of COVID," and so COVID deaths are over-reported. As someone who has filled out a fair number of death certificates (certainly more than these Fox-for-brains), I can tell you that the technical term for this is "bullshit". If someone has, say, a pre-existing lung condition, then contracts COVID, and then can't fight it off and dies, there is a dual cause of death: the lung condition and the COVID. Both will be listed on the death certificate. It's the same concept as a traffic fatality from drunk driving. Primary cause of death: blunt force trauma from the crash. Secondary cause: blood alcohol .26. The alcohol alone would not have caused the death, but the wreck would not have happened without the alcohol. Omitting alcohol as part of the cause isn't just inaccurate, it's a lie. Same if we omit COVID.
