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Excess U.S. Deaths Add to Pandemic’s Unofficial Toll
Thousands of deaths not attributed to Covid-19 were likely caused by the disease or indirect impacts of the pandemic, two new studies suggest
New analyses reveal considerable unexplained excess deaths during the coronavirus pandemic. Some of the deaths are likely due to Covid-19, the researchers say, and others may be indirectly related to the pandemic, caused for example by people not seeking medical attention for heart problems or other emergencies unrelated to Covid-19.
In the one study released today, published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers examined national death data from March 1 to May 30 — the first three months of the U.S. pandemic. They found excess deaths above the norm for previous years and also beyond what’s been officially attributed to Covid-19.
The study counted 781,000 total deaths, which is 122,300 more than would be expected for the time period. Of those excess deaths, 95,234 were attributed to Covid-19, leaving 27,066 unexplained excess deaths. Some of these unexplained excess deaths, the researchers say, could have been caused by Covid-19 but not counted as such because testing for the disease was incomplete, especially early on.
