The Importance of Estimating Excess Deaths Regionally During the COVID-19 Pandemic

National or statewide estimates of excess deaths have limited value to understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic regionally. We assessed excess deaths in a 9-county geographically defined population that had low rates of COVID-19 and widescale availability of testing early in the pandemic, well-annotated clinical data, and coverage by 2 medical examiner ’s offices. We compared mortality rates (MRs) per 100,000 person-years in 2020 and 2021 with those in the 2019 reference period and MR ratios (MRRs).

Source: Mayo Clinic Proceedings - March 1, 2024 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: Suzette J. Bielinski, Sheila M. Manemann, Guilherme S. Lopes, Ruoxiang Jiang, Susan A. Weston, R. Ross Reichard, Aaron D. Norman, Celine M. Vachon, Paul Y. Takahashi, Mandeep Singh, Nicholas B. Larson, V éronique L. Roger, Jennifer L. St. Sauver Tags: Brief report Source Type: research