Thread by @DrEricDing

⚠️True US Coronavirus deaths = ~300k! New study found ~75,000 more people may have died from #COVID19 than recorded in March-July. By examining death certificates, JAMA study determined ~75k additional deaths were indirectly caused by the pandemic. 🧵
usatoday.com/story/news/hea…

2) “There have been some conspiracy theories that the number of deaths from COVID-19 have been exaggerated,” said Dr. Steven Woolf, “The opposite is the case. We’re actually experiencing more death than we thought we were.” #COVID19

3) “Woolf says the deaths indirectly caused by the pandemic came from illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease, diabetes and heart disease, which sharply increased in the same five states that recorded the most COVID-19 deaths.

4) “Delayed care, fear of seeking care or emotional crises stemming from the pandemic could have also contributed to these deaths, he says, as well as inaccurate death certificates that may have misidentified a COVID-19 death. “

5) Study CONCLUSIONS: “Although total US death counts are remarkably consistent from year to year, US deaths increased by 20% during March-July 2020. COVID-19 was a documented cause of only 67% of these excess deaths. jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/…

6) “Some states had greater difficulty than others in containing community spread, causing protracted elevations in excess deaths that extended into the summer. US deaths attributed to some noninfectious causes increased during COVID-19 surges.

7) “Excess deaths attributed to causes other than COVID-19 could reflect deaths from unrecognized or undocumented infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 or deaths among uninfected patients resulting from disruptions produced by the pandemic.”

8) Bottomline— a lot more people died either directly or indirectly due to the Coronavirus pandemic, likely due to delayed or displaced care because of the virus surge. That’s why they are indeed still “coronavirus deaths”. Excess deaths by state below. #COVID19

9) Update— CDC released their own excess #COVID19 deaths and it’s almost the same.

https://twitter.com/drericding/status/1318614425033756674