Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/12/13/us/deaths-covid-other-causes.html
2020 Was Especially Deadly. Covid Wasn’t the Only Culprit.
By Denise LuDec. 13, 2020
The year 2020 has been abnormal for mortalities. At least 356,000 more people in the United States have died than usual since the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the country in the spring. But not all of these deaths have been directly linked to Covid-19.
More than a quarter of deaths above normal have been from other causes, including diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, high blood pressure and pneumonia, according to a New York Times analysis of estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Some of these additional deaths may actually have been due to Covid-19, but they could have been undiagnosed or misattributed to other causes.
Many of them are most likely indirectly related to the virus and caused by disruptions from the pandemic, including strains on health care systems, inadequate access to supplies like ventilators or people avoiding hospitals for fear of exposure to the coronavirus.
40,000 extra deaths from diabetes, Alzheimer’s, high blood pressure and pneumonia
Research has shown that people with underlying health conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease are particularly vulnerable to severe illness and death if they contract Covid-19.
In several states, deaths attributed to diabetes are at least 20 percent above normal this year...
2020 Was Especially Deadly. Covid Wasn’t the Only Culprit.
By Denise LuDec. 13, 2020
The year 2020 has been abnormal for mortalities. At least 356,000 more people in the United States have died than usual since the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the country in the spring. But not all of these deaths have been directly linked to Covid-19.
More than a quarter of deaths above normal have been from other causes, including diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, high blood pressure and pneumonia, according to a New York Times analysis of estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Some of these additional deaths may actually have been due to Covid-19, but they could have been undiagnosed or misattributed to other causes.
Many of them are most likely indirectly related to the virus and caused by disruptions from the pandemic, including strains on health care systems, inadequate access to supplies like ventilators or people avoiding hospitals for fear of exposure to the coronavirus.
40,000 extra deaths from diabetes, Alzheimer’s, high blood pressure and pneumonia
Research has shown that people with underlying health conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease are particularly vulnerable to severe illness and death if they contract Covid-19.
In several states, deaths attributed to diabetes are at least 20 percent above normal this year...
