COVID-19 Refresher series: How deaths are counted

ALPENA, Mich.– In the final COVID-19 refresher, we’re talking about what counts as a COVID death.

Jeff Duncan is a statistician and the head of Vital Records at the MDHHS.

He says that a COVID death doesn’t always mean someone breathed their last on a ventilator. However, that in itself is not a reason to distrust official counts.

Someone suffering from asthma at the same time as COVID may be counted as a COVID death. This methodology helps scientists compare cases and find out how the disease interacts with other illnesses.

Duncan says the cause of death is up to doctors on the death certificate. However, he adds, analysts at the National Center for health statistics also look at the data. The analysts then categorize causes of death by a national standard. This isn’t a cheat, it’s a mathematical tool to help doctors compare notes.

The NCHS categorizes deaths in a way that maintains consistency between states. And by using similar categories to the WHO, doctors and scientists can easily compare data around the world.

This kind of mathematical heavy–lifting is fundamental to learning the workings of a new disease.