US COVID-19 deaths underreported by 17%, study suggests

The number of COVID-19 deaths reported in the U.S. may be underestimated by as much as 17 percent, according to a study published May 20 in PLOS Medicine.

Researchers analyzed National Center for Health Statistics data from 2,096 counties on COVID-19, and all-cause mortality to see what percentage of excess deaths in the U.S. were not assigned to COVID-19 in 2020. Excess deaths represent the amount of deaths above what would be expected in a normal year.

For every 100 excess deaths attributed to COVID-19, there were another 20 deaths attributed to other causes of death, researchers found. Counties with a lower average socioeconomic status, more people who had comorbidities and those in the South and West had a higher proportion of excess deaths assigned to other causes. Counties with more Black residents also had a higher percentage of excess deaths not attributed to COVID-19.

"Our findings suggest that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mortality has been substantially underestimated in many communities across the U.S.," said lead author Andrew Stokes, PhD, assistant professor of global health at the Boston University School of Public Health.

Dr. Stokes attributed underreporting to several factors, including severe testing shortages, overwhelmed healthcare systems and a lack of familiarity with the clinical manifestations of COVID-19.

"Official COVID-19 death tallies also fail to capture the pandemic's profound social and economic consequences, including the downstream effects of interruptions in receiving health care, loss of employment, evictions and social isolation and loneliness," he added.

 

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