Letter to the editor: Questioning covid-19 death numbers

I keep reading about all the deaths that covid-19 has caused, and it is a staggering number of deaths in this country. My concern is whether these deaths are being reported accurately.

I’ve dealt in the past with deaths of family members and how death certificates are completed. I have questioned three death certificates of family members. This is what the Centers for Disease Control uses for its statistics: only the immediate cause of death. It is not concerned with the contributing factors that led to a person’s death.

When a doctor, medical examiner or coroner notes an immediate cause of death, it is almost impossible to correct that information, even based on medical records. I have to wonder if a number of these deaths occurred due to other medical conditions where covid-19 was a contributing factor. In that case, the underlying condition would have been the actual cause of death and would not be added into the daily covid-19 total.

Most people probably do not look closely at death certificates and compare them to medical records, but this is how the pandemic numbers could look higher and cause more alarm than is necessary.

Ann Stanton

Baden