Trump's Favorite Coronavirus Metric, The Case Fatality, Is Unreliable
President Trump often cites the coronavirus case fatality rate, saying it is more important than the number of cases or deaths. But medical experts say it's not a good way to measure the pandemic.
As the number of coronavirus cases started spiking again this month, the White House keyed in on a different number - one that paints a more rosy picture of the pandemic: the case fatality rate.
When asked about rising cases at a recent briefing, Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany quickly parried "We're seeing the fatality rate in this country come down," Said McEnany. "That is a very good thing."
The case fatality rate is the result of a simple mathematical calculation: the number of
