The narrow focus of the WHO and CDC to halt the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus while ignoring other infectious diseases will predictably result in excess deaths from a more prevalent and deadly lung disease – tuberculosis.  The COVID-19 lockdowns are predicted to result in a million more deaths from tuberculosis than what would normally occur.  The COVID-19 lockdowns need to be halted immediately if this data is to be heeded and translated into public health policy.

We now have more data since May of 2020 when the STOP TB PARTNERSHIP announced that efforts to slow or block the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus will predictably lead to more excess deaths from tuberculosis, over and above TB deaths that usually occur.

Since the pandemic began in early December 2019 an estimated 21,393 people have died of COVID-19 per week in the first 33 weeks of the pandemic, 706,000 COVID-19 deaths total (Aug 6, 2020).

A total of 1.5 million people died of TB in 2018.  When data issued by the STOP TB PARTNERSHIP is extrapolated into a forecast, COVID-19 lockdowns are predicted to result in 1,513,200 excess TB deaths by the end of the year (31,525 excess deaths per week or 126,100 per month).

Patients with active (non-dormant) tuberculosis need to regularly attend TB clinics and undergo six months of antibiotic treatment to eradicate their lung infection, a regimen that is now thwarted by home lockdowns.