July 2, 2020

Excess Deaths From COVID-19 and Other Causes, March-April 2020

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Transmission

• Woolf et al. report a total of 505,059 deaths from all causes in the US between March 1-April 25, 2020. Of these, 87,001 (95%CI, 86,578-87,423) were considered excess deaths beyond what would normally be expected during this time period, and 56,246 (65%) of these were attributed to COVID-19, suggesting that the number of COVID-19 deaths reported in the first weeks of the pandemic captured only two-thirds of excess deaths. The 5 states with the most COVID-19 deaths experienced large proportional increases in deaths from non-respiratory underlying causes, including diabetes (96%), heart diseases (89%), Alzheimer disease (64%), and cerebrovascular diseases (35%).  

Woolf et al. (July 1, 2020). Excess Deaths From COVID-19 and Other Causes, March-April 2020. JAMA. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.11787