True number of Covid deaths in the US probably undercounted, experts say
Many of the deaths aren’t counted in the official Covid tally because
they happen months after infections, expert says
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/07/true-number-covid-deaths-us-likely-undercounted-experts
The true number of deaths from the Covid pandemic in the US is probably
being undercounted, due to the long-lasting and little-understood
effects of Covid infection and other deadly complications that surged
during the past two years.
“We are seeing right now the highest death rates we have ever seen in
the history of this business,” J Scott Davison, CEO of insurance company
OneAmerica, told journalists on 30 December.
“Death rates are up 40% over what they were pre-pandemic,” he said,
among working-age people between 18 and 64. Deaths among older Americans
have also increased, with one in 100 Americans over the age of 65 dying.
...
Many of the deaths aren’t counted in the official Covid tally, he said,
because they happen months after Covid infections. “The deaths that are
being reported as Covid deaths greatly understate the actual death
losses among working-age people from the pandemic. It may not all be
Covid on their death certificates, but deaths are up in just huge, huge
numbers.”
...
Deaths from long Covid have been particularly difficult to track,
because the virus may no longer be present at the time of death, but it
weakened organs or created fatal new ailments.