Iran Press/ America: "For every two Americans that we know of who are dying of Covid-19, another American is dying," said Dr. Steven Woolf, author of the new research and director emeritus of the Center on Society and Health at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Woolf's study looked at death statistics from the National Center for Health Statistics, which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as the Census Bureau.
The study found that from March through July, there were 225,530 'excess' deaths — a 20 percent increase over the average number of deaths expected for those months. (Excess deaths refer to the number of fatalities above what would be expected in a typical time period.)
Deaths directly linked to COVID-19 account for 67 percent of those excess deaths, the study found, leaving the remaining 33 percent without a clear explanation.
One explanation for the gap may be underreporting or misreporting of COVID-19-related deaths — in other words, not counting COVID-19 deaths.
"The second explanation for the gap is people who did not have COVID-19, but died because of disruptions caused by the pandemic," Woolf said, adding: "That would include someone who has chest pain, who is scared to call 911, because they're afraid of getting the virus, and then dies of a heart attack.
Woolf's study also took into account increased mortality related to increases in substance abuse and decreases in access to medical care, particularly among those who lost health care coverage during the economic downturn caused by the pandemic.
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