1 Apr: LifeSite News: Problematic definition of ‘COVID-19 death’ may be inflating death rate, leading to draconian lockdowns
By Robert L. Kinney III
According to the CDC, “[t]he basic source of information about mortality is the death certificate.” One clue, then, is observable in how the CDC is advising physicians to fill out death certificates...
The CDC recently published a “Covid-19 Alert” (LINK) dated March 24, 2020 with guidance on the topic. The document summarizes potential questions from death certificate certifiers, which are most often physicians. One question which indicates how broadly “Covid-19 death” is being defined is, “[s]hould ‘COVID-19’ be reported on the death certificate only with a confirmed test?” The CDC gives the following guidance:
COVID-19 should be reported on the death certificate for all decedents where the disease caused or is assumed to have caused or contributed to death...
If Covid-19 is “assumed to have caused” or “assumed to…have contributed to death”, it is to be reported on the death certificate. “Covid-19 caused death” and “Covid-19 is assumed to have caused or contributed to death” are two very different descriptions; yet, they are apparently included under the same phrase of “Covid-19 death.” Furthermore, as it is written above, a deceased may be included as a “Covid-19 death” even if the deceased was not confirmed to have had Covid-19.
It is known that many “Covid-19 deaths” occur in individuals with multiple underlying medical problems. And if a “Covid-19 death” includes “decedents where the disease caused or is assumed to have caused or contributed to death”, as the alert above states, then it follows that the CDC’s official tally of “Covid-19 deaths” does not mean what millions of Americans think it means.
“Covid-19 deaths” also apparently includes deceased who may have had co-infections with other viruses which also could be “assumed to have contributed to death”. Examples include HIV/AIDS which weakens the immune system along with non-Covid-19 viruses which may cause pneumonia and severe acute respiratory symptoms. How many “Covid-19 deaths” are among persons with multiple viral infections?
One could assume that SARS-CoV-2 virus would contribute to death in a patient who already has pneumonia resulting from H1N1. Or, one could assume there are deceased who have tested positive for co-infections with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the swine flu, influenza, and/or respiratory syncyctial virus. According to the above federal government guidance to physicians, the death certificate of such deceased who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 virus along with other viral infections would be counted in the CDC’s tally of “Covid-19 deaths.”...
The CDC’s alert above indicates that “Covid-19 deaths” includes some who may not have even tested positive for the virus. Other “Covid-19 deaths” may include mere assumptions that Covid-19 probably contributed to death in persons that may have succumbed to other viruses had they contracted them.
Notably, too, the above guidance on how Covid-19 deaths should be reported by physicians on death certificates is dated March 24, 2020...
***If one views the data of daily reported deaths after March 24, 2020, one finds that there was an apparent sudden increase in daily “Covid-19 deaths.” This may not be due to spread of the virus, though, as one may be misled to think. It may be a result of the March 24, 2020 guideline from the CDC which says that “COVID-19 should be reported on the death certificate for all decedents where the disease caused or is “assumed to have caused or contributed to death”; as this is stated, it would include some that have not tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 virus. And, as written, it includes many others that may have co-infections with other viruses which may be “assumed to have contributed to death”. Or, it could include patients with COPD and a recent history of pneumonia resulting as a side effect of certain medications but with Covid-19 “assumed to have contributed to death”. Thus, mortality statistics of “Covid-19 deaths” could have immediately inflated after March 24, 2020 as a result...
https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/problematic-covid-19-death-definition-may-be-inflating-death-rate-effecting-draconian-lockdown-measures
yet CNN spins it in the opposite direction,& mentions even more tweaking under way!
6 Apr Updated 7 Apr: CNN: US coronavirus death count likely an underestimate. Here’s why
By Jacqueline Howard; Arman Azad, Wes Bruer, Christina Maxouris and Dakin Andone contributed to this report
Also, deaths due to Covid-19 “may be misclassified as pneumonia deaths in the absence of positive test results, and pneumonia may appear on death certificates as a comorbid condition,” the CDC noted, ***adding that “analyses to better understand and quantify reporting delays” for Covid-19 deaths and “related causes” are underway.
In March, the CDC introduced a new code to accurately capture mortality due to Covid-19 on death certificates.
With that code, the CDC noted that Covid-19 “should be reported on the death certificate for all decedents where the disease caused or is assumed to have caused or contributed to death.”...
‘There will be a lot of death’...
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/06/health/us-coronavirus-death-count-cdc-explainer/index.html
WaPo claims only those lab tested are counted as Covid...and quotes LIPSITCH!
5 Apr: WaPo: Investigations: Coronavirus death toll: Americans are almost certainly dying of covid-19 but being left out of the official count
By Emma Brown, Beth Reinhard and Aaron C. Davis; Jacqueline Dupree, Abigail Hauslohner, Dalton Bennett and Lena H. Sun contributed to this report
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counts only deaths in which the presence of the coronavirus is confirmed in a laboratory test. “We know that it is an underestimation,” agency spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund said...
The CDC has launched an effort to use national data on illnesses, hospitalizations and death certificates to estimate covid-19 infections and deaths...
Marc Lipsitch, a professor of epidemiology at Harvard, said there are probably some people dying with covid-19 who are not dying of covid-19. Such misattribution is a problem for any cause of death, he said, but it is a minor issue that is “swamped by the opposite problem: deaths that are caused by covid but never attributed, so the death count is underestimated.”...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/coronavirus-death-toll-americans-are-almost-certainly-dying-of-covid-19-but-being-left-out-of-the-official-count/2020/04/05/71d67982-747e-11ea-87da-77a8136c1a6d_story.html
part of the Guidance linked at LifeSite:
NVSS (National Vital Statistics System):
COVID-19 Alert No. 2 March 24, 2020 New ICD code introduced for COVID-19 deaths
Will COVID-19 be the underlying cause?
The underlying cause depends upon what and where conditions are reported on the death certificate. However, the rules for coding and selection of the underlying cause of death are expected to result in COVID19 being the underlying cause more often than not...
What happens if certifiers report terms other than the suggested terms?
If a death certificate reports coronavirus without identifying a specific strain or explicitly specifying that it is not COVID-19, NCHS will ask the states to follow up to verify whether or not the coronavirus was COVID-19. As long as the phrase used indicates the 2019 coronavirus strain, NCHS expects to assign the new code. However, it is preferable and more straightforward for certifiers to use the standard terminology (COVID-19)...
Should “COVID-19” be reported on the death certificate only with a confirmed test
COVID-19 should be reported on the death certificate for all decedents where the disease caused or is assumed to have caused or contributed to death. Certifiers should include as much detail as possible based on their knowledge of the case, medical records, laboratory testing, etc. If the decedent had other chronic conditions such as COPD or asthma that may have also contributed, these conditions can be reported in Part II...
Steven Schwartz, PhD, Director, Division of Vital Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics