The global coronavirus pandemic killed more people than those inflicted with COVID-19, because those sick of other ailments were "so scared" they avoided healthcare and ultimately died without treatment, according to Dr. Mehmet Oz.
"For March, April and May we have 122,000 more deaths then typical [in the United States]," Dr. Oz told host John Catsimatidis on Sunday's "The Cats Roundtable" on WABC 770 AM, adding, "a lot of these deaths were not people who had COVID-19 necessarily, but they died because of the pandemic.
"There are secondary effects, changes in population behavior, when you lock down a country. And when people are so scared that they have an aversion to the healthcare system, then they won't go to the hospital when they're having chest pain. And, therefore, the heart attack that takes their life will be allowed to happen.
"They'll suffer from conditions that could've been treated in a timely fashion. But by the time we get to them, it's too late."
As for the hope for a vaccine, Dr. Oz told host John Catsimatidis one could be ready by early 2021.
"I'm very optimistic about the vaccine scenario," Dr. Oz said. "We've got over a dozen products that are out there getting ready for testing. Some have already started. Pfizer this week announced they are in clinical trials on 45 people, just to show it's safe, revealed that these people made antibodies at levels that were similar to what you'd get if you're actually sick.
"If this is borne out in large trials, then we'll be in pretty good shape by the first quarter of 2021."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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