U.S. COVID-19 death toll “likely significantly” higher than reported: Reuters

Screenshot of the Reuters news report titled “U.S. COVID-19 deaths likely higher than reported, study shows” published on July 1, 2020.

A recent study estimates that the number of COVID-19 deaths in March through May was “likely significantly higher” than reported, according to a news report by Reuters published on July 1, 2020.

The official tally of the COVID-19 death toll of March through May in the U.S. was 95,235, while a Reuters tally for the period that includes “probable” COVID-19 deaths, was higher at 103,649, according to the Reuter report.

The study, led by epidemiologist Daniel Weinberger from the Yale School of Published Health and published on July 1 in JAMA International Medicine, estimates that the COVID-19 deaths from March 1 to May 30 in the U.S. is up to 28% higher than the official tally by the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics.

“Official tallies of deaths due to COVID-19 underestimate the full increase in deaths associated with the pandemic in many states,” researchers reported in the study, and “the mortality burden and the completeness of the tallies vary markedly between states.”

Researchers explained the reasons they regarded the official tally as an underestimate.

The limited availability of the nucleic acid testing and diagnostic tests, the sensitivity of these tests, the number of deaths caused by COVID-19 that were not counted, and the delay of the reported COVID-19 deaths can all be factors in the undercount of March through May.

In recent weeks, discrepancies of the COVID-19 death reporting have decreased considerably, as the availability of the testing and the awareness of the pandemic have increased, according to Reuters.

You may find more details at https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-deaths/u-s-covid-19-deaths-likely-higher-than-reported-study-shows-idUSKBN2426GZ