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Official Covid-19 death counts in the United States may underestimate the full rise in fatalities linked with the pandemic, according to a new study.
The new study, published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine today, found that the number of excess deaths that have occurred so far during the pandemic, between March and May, is actually 28% higher than the nation’s official number of deaths attributed to Covid-19.
"The gap between reported Covid-19 deaths and excess deaths can be influenced by several factors, including the intensity of testing; guidelines on the recording of deaths that are suspected to be related to Covid-19 but do not have a laboratory confirmation; and the location of death," the researchers wrote in the study.
The researchers added that, "As the pandemic has progressed, official statistics have become better aligned with excess mortality estimates, perhaps due to enhanced testing and increased recognition of the clinical features of Covid-19."
What researches studied: The new study included data from the National Center for Health Statistics on deaths due to pneumonia, influenza and Covid-19, as well as deaths from any cause.
The researchers — from Yale University, National Institutes of Health, Aledade Inc., University of Massachusetts Amherst and Roskilde University in Denmark — used that data to examine how many deaths were due to any cause each week between March and May this year compared with in previous years.
They also examined how many deaths were due to Covid-19 during that same time period.
What the data showed: The researchers found that there were about 781,00 total deaths in the United States from March 1 to May 30, representing 122,300 more deaths than would be typically expected at that time of year compared with previous years.
Meanwhile, there were 95,235 reported deaths attributed to Covid-19 between March and May — a tally less than the total number of excess deaths, the researchers found. The data also showed that the deaths and completeness of death counts vary “markedly” between states.
https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic-07-01-20-intl/index.html
The new study, published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine today, found that the number of excess deaths that have occurred so far during the pandemic, between March and May, is actually 28% higher than the nation’s official number of deaths attributed to Covid-19.
"The gap between reported Covid-19 deaths and excess deaths can be influenced by several factors, including the intensity of testing; guidelines on the recording of deaths that are suspected to be related to Covid-19 but do not have a laboratory confirmation; and the location of death," the researchers wrote in the study.
The researchers added that, "As the pandemic has progressed, official statistics have become better aligned with excess mortality estimates, perhaps due to enhanced testing and increased recognition of the clinical features of Covid-19."
What researches studied: The new study included data from the National Center for Health Statistics on deaths due to pneumonia, influenza and Covid-19, as well as deaths from any cause.
The researchers — from Yale University, National Institutes of Health, Aledade Inc., University of Massachusetts Amherst and Roskilde University in Denmark — used that data to examine how many deaths were due to any cause each week between March and May this year compared with in previous years.
They also examined how many deaths were due to Covid-19 during that same time period.
What the data showed: The researchers found that there were about 781,00 total deaths in the United States from March 1 to May 30, representing 122,300 more deaths than would be typically expected at that time of year compared with previous years.
Meanwhile, there were 95,235 reported deaths attributed to Covid-19 between March and May — a tally less than the total number of excess deaths, the researchers found. The data also showed that the deaths and completeness of death counts vary “markedly” between states.
https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic-07-01-20-intl/index.html
