According to a study, deaths from COVID-19 in the first months of the pandemic could have been underestimated by almost 30%

DETROIT – A new study found that the number of deaths from coronavirus (COVID-19) in the first months of the pandemic could have been underestimated by almost 30%.

Experts said determining how many people have died from COVID-19 is not as easy as it sounds.

The researchers looked at the total number of deaths between March 1 and May 30 this year and compared it to the historical number of deaths in the same time period.

They discovered that there were approximately 122,000 more deaths than expected. A large portion of them, about 95,000, were directly attributed to a diagnosis of COVID-19, leaving 27,000 excess deaths that were not clearly explained.

In Michigan, experts identified 6,100 deaths above what should be expected, with approximately 4,800 attributed to COVID-19. That leaves more than 1,200 additional deaths that are incompletely explained.

The study authors believe that additional deaths could be from multiple sources, such as unrecognized and therefore unrecognized COVID-19 infections, and medical conditions made worse by the pandemic due to less access to medical care.

Another study recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association looked at the medical causes of death in five of the hardest hit states: Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.

During the COVID-19 spike in March and April, deaths from diabetes increased 96%. Heart disease increased 89%. Alzheimer’s disease increased 64%. Strokes increased 35%.

The study authors suspect that some of the deaths occurred among people who were unwilling to seek medical attention due to fears of the coronavirus.

The important lesson is that as COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the country, chronic medical conditions will worsen if left untreated and treated. Emergencies remain emergencies, even during a pandemic.