Health Care

CDC Has Not Reduced the Death Count Related To COVID-19

September 06, 2020 11:39·
US President Donald Trump takes his

US President Donald Trump takes his"law and order message to a rally in New Hampshire

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not "backpedal" on the number of deaths caused by COVID-19, reducing the figure from almost 154,000 to just over 9,000, as social media posts claimed.

Both the federal health agency and Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a top White House coronavirus advisor, say there is no truth to the tweet, which said, per the Washington Post, that the CDC had "quietly updated the COVID number to admit that only 6 percent [of people] actually died from COVID", and that the majority of deaths were in people who "had 2-3 other serious illnesses". President Donald Trump was among those who tweeted the information, which was later taken down by Twitter for violating platform rules.

Another Mainer has died from COVID-19, bringing the death toll from the pandemic to 133. "These causes may include chronic conditions like diabetes or hypertension", Anderson said in his statement obtained by CNN. "In 92 percent of all deaths that mention COVID-19, COVID-19 is listed as the underlying cause of death".

COVID-19 deaths are counted if they are listed on the death certificate as the cause of death or as contributing to the death, Karras said.

Early on in the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, there was little data on the virus and how it affects the body. A death isn't excluded from the COVID-19 tally just because the person was obese or had diabetes or dementia.

Hydrocortisone boosts COVID-19 patient survival rates in global study
If used when the blood pressure was low, a better outcome of 80 percent was still achieved. Hydrocortisone, like other steroids, is an anti-inflammatory.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's latest report showed about 94% of COVID-19 deaths included people with a preexisting conditions.

Death certificates also tend to include an "immediate" cause of death followed by "underlying causes", Karras said.

Also, while death certificates are supposed to list any causes or conditions that contributed, past research has shown that the documents aren't ideal. Since access to COVID-19 testing was limited at the beginning on the year, some people likely died of the disease or related complications before a diagnosis could be confirmed, Hafiz said.

There are many factors that contribute to someone's cause of death. COVID-19, as an underlying cause, starts the chain that leads to other health problems that leads to the death.

In order to curb the spread of COVID-19, people should continue to wear masks, socially distance themselves from others, and seek guidance from sources like the CDC, rather than individual studies, Hafiz said.

Recommended News

Join The Conversation

We are pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news.
Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper.
Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.