To reach their conclusions, researchers at Yale University used data from the National Center for Health Statistics to compare the number of excess deaths for any reason with the recorded number of weekly deaths from coronavirus from March 1 to May 30, 2020. Then these figures were compared with deaths for the same period in previous years.
The researchers eventually found that excess deaths in excess of normal levels also exceeded the number of deaths attributed to COVID-19. This allowed them to conclude that many of the deaths were probably caused by coronavirus, which simply was not confirmed due to various circumstances.
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the total number of deaths in the United States for any reason from March to May was 781,000, or 122,300 more than the average for this period.
Over the same three-month period, the number of officially registered deaths due to COVID-19 was 95,235, or 28% less than this excess number.
“In some states, there was a good match between the number of reported deaths from coronavirus and the total,” Weinberger said. "The state of Washington and Minnesota have almost no gap, but in South Carolina and Texas there is a significant difference."
The gap between the official indicators and the actual number of deaths from coronavirus, the researchers explain the insufficient level of testing of patients at the initial stage of the pandemic.
Studies have also shown that fear of contracting the virus kept people with symptoms of heart attack or stroke away from hospitals, which may have contributed even more to the total number of deaths.
Yale: U.S. Coronavirus Deaths Likely Much Higher Than Reported
Yale: U.S. Coronavirus Deaths Likely Much Higher Than Reported
06.07.2020
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