There's a concrete reason people sometimes call statistics "Not Math", lying with it is just too darn easy.

"You mean it's a conspiracy to..."

No, darn it. It takes one effing guy to bake something effing stupid in. It didn't need to be told to the maybe 100 other people involved. Multivariate statistics is tough enough without "somehow" giving Vitamin C as the "placebo". I've had a (hard science) study give odd results on Tuesdays. That was irritating.

Edited to add: Amusingly, I'll predict the reverse. The US upcoming season's "COVID + FLU" will be lower than "COVID + FLU" was this year. (Specifically meaning not the died from gunshot to the chest and COVID, but mostly the gunshot guys.)

They'll spin the heck out of the numbers, that I don't doubt in the slightest. But predict the numbers will be down.

There's a concrete reason people sometimes call statistics "Not Math", lying with it is just too darn easy.

"You mean it's a conspiracy to..."

No, darn it. It takes one effing guy to bake something effing stupid in. It didn't need to be told to the maybe 100 other people involved. Multivariate statistics is tough enough without "somehow" giving Vitamin C as the "placebo".