OUT OF CONTROL

U.S. Coronavirus Deaths Substantially Higher Than Official Tally, Study Shows

The U.S. reported about 122,300 more deaths than would typically be expected, but only 95,235 of those were confirmed to be COVID-19 related.

The true number of coronavirus-related deaths in the U.S. is likely much higher than the confirmed count, according to a new Yale University study. Researchers used data from the National Center for Health Statistics, comparing the number of excess deaths in the U.S. between March 1 and May 30 to the number of COVID-19 deaths. The researchers found that the number of excess deaths exceeded the number of confirmed coronavirus deaths, suggesting that there are far more deaths related to the virus than previously thoughts. The deaths in the U.S. numbered about 122,300 more than would typically be expected, but only 95,235 of those were attributed to COVID-19.

“Our analyses suggest that the official tally of deaths due to Covid-19 represent a substantial undercount of the true burden,” Yale epidemiologist Dan Weinberger told CNBC.