Commentary In April of last year, something very strange happened. COVID-19 death rates in Ireland, a country I hail from, surpassed death rates in China. Yes, Ireland, a tiny country with a population of less than 5 million people versus China—the world’s most populated country—with more than 1.4 billion citizens. According to a John Hopkins University (JHU) report, in late April 2021, Ireland had 4,873 COVID-related deaths and close to a quarter of a million confirmed cases. Meanwhile, in China, 4,845 official deaths were reported, with 102,373 cases. Today, almost a year on from this rather staggering report, China’s “official” (a slippery term, especially when discussing China) death toll has hardly budged. On the other hand, Ireland’s death toll is almost 6,000. How is this possible? Of course, something is, shall we say, a little off. The people reporting death tolls, like the scientists working at JHU, can only comment on …