Here is the CDC report linked in the article. I can’t find anything to support what the article is claiming.
If someone who has better eyes than mine can look at the link to find data to support the article it would be much appreciated.
The exact text ("6% etc.") is half way down the page under the header “Comorbidities.”
At the end of the paragraph with the exact text, there is a small box that says “Click here to download.”
The link is:
https://data.cdc.gov/NCHS/Conditions-contributing-to-deaths-involving-corona/hk9y-quqm
The title is:
“Conditions contributing to deaths involving coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), by age group and state, United States.”
This is not "new data." However, it might be the first time this page has pointed out that almost all COVID deaths have a comorbidity.
At the bottom of the page is the first 14 rows of a Table that has over 12,000 rows of data.
It looks like you can download all 12,000 rows, but I do not want a file like that in my computer, so I did not try to do that.
Essentially - the 6% “COVID alone” number is the same way the CDC counts “influenza alone” deaths.
However, the CDC appears to count almost 100% of death certificates with the word “COVID” on them as “COVID Fatalities.”
That is absolutely NOT the way the CDC counts influenza deaths.
This issue has at least one more layer of complexity - there are at least two agencies inside the CDC that compile fatality data, and they both use different methods to count deaths from respiratory diseases.
For instance, one of the agencies has reported a huge surge in pneumonia deaths (+75,000), but the CDC official COVID death total counts almost all those pneumonia deaths as COVID deaths.
In my opinion, the "Excess Death" number for 2020 is being falsely manipulated and double counted.
However - I do not want to minimize the threat of COVID.
COVID is deadly for the elderly and the infirm.
But, COVID is no more deadly for that group than a severe common cold or influenza.
Comorbidities
Table 3 shows the types of health conditions and contributing causes mentioned in conjunction with deaths involving coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
For 6% of the deaths, COVID-19 was the only cause mentioned. For deaths with conditions or causes in addition to COVID-19, on average, there were 2.6 additional conditions or causes per death. The number of deaths with each condition or cause is shown for all deaths and by age groups. For data on comorbidities