How Many People Have Really Died With COVID-19?

Why do some people still not understand just how many people have died with COVID-19?

The usual suspects…

How Many People Have Really Died With COVID-19?

If you are confused or doubt just how deadly COVID-19 has been, one easy way to estimate how many people have died with COVID-19 is to compare year-to-year total deaths.

For example, just over 2.8 million people died in 2018 and 2019.

In 2019, a total of 2,854,838 resident deaths were registered in the United States—15,633 more deaths than in 2018.

How does that compare to 2020?

Not surprisingly, there were far fewer deaths in 2018 and 2019…

Using complete year counts:

• 2019 total deaths – 2,854,838
• 2020 total deaths – 3,177,144

Leaving you with 322,306 more deaths in 2020 than in 2019.

Which is just about the count of COVID-19 deaths that experts have posted.

If you still aren’t convinced that these deaths have been caused by COVID-19, if not COVID-19, then what has caused all of these extra deaths?

“Excess deaths provide an estimate of the full COVID-19 burden and indicate that official tallies likely undercount deaths due to the virus.”

Estimation of Excess Deaths Associated With the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States, March to May 2020

The count is even more startling if you understand that many experts think that we are under-counting COVID-19 deaths!

“Simon and colleagues suggest that it is critical to consider that for every death, an estimated 9 family members are affected, such as with prolonged grief or symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. In other words, approximately 3.5 million people could develop major mental health needs. This does not account for the thousands of health care workers in hospitals and nursing homes who have been witness to the unimaginable morbidity and mortality associated with COVID-19.”

Excess Deaths and the Great Pandemic of 2020

What else?

Many people are underestimating their risk of what could happen if they get COVID-19. Or if one of their family members get COVID-19.

Sure, COVID-19 is much more deadly if you have risk factors, but many people still underestimate their risks of getting and dying from COVID-19.

The bottom line is that COVID-19 is indeed deadly, with the possibility of serious long-term effects for many who survive.

“While most persons with COVID-19 recover and return to normal health, some patients can have symptoms that can last for weeks or even months after recovery from acute illness.”

Long-Term Effects of COVID-19

And since we now have safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines that can help end the pandemic, you know what to do.

It’s time to get vaccinated and protected.

More on COVID-19 Deaths

• Answering Your Concerns About the COVID-19 Vaccine Development Process
• Countering COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy
• The Truth About COVID-19 Vaccines
• Misinformation about COVID-19 Deaths
• Are One in a Billion Children Dying of COVID-19?
• Are Kids Dying With COVID-19?
• COVID-19 Risk Maps
• Mortality Risk of COVID-19
• COVID-19 and Non-Communicable Disease risk factors
• Fact check: 94% of individuals with additional causes of death still had COVID-19
• CDC Did Not ‘Admit Only 6%’ of Recorded Deaths from COVID-19
• Instagram Post Distorts Facts on COVID-19 Death Reporting
• Fact check: Over 300,000 Americans died of COVID-19
• CDC – Long-Term Effects of COVID-19
• WHO – COVID-19 Dashboard
• CDC – Provisional Death Counts for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
• CDC – Deaths and Mortality
• CDC – Mortality in the United States, 2019
• CDC – Monthly and 12 month-ending number of live births, deaths and infant deaths: United States
• Deaths From COVID-19
• Excess Deaths From COVID-19 and Other Causes, March-July 2020
• All-Cause Excess Mortality and COVID-19-Related Mortality Among US Adults Aged 25-44 Years, March-July 2020
• Excess Mortality in California During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic, March to August 2020
• Estimation of Excess Deaths Associated With the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States, March to May 2020
• Excess Deaths and the Great Pandemic of 2020
• Mental Health Disorders Related to COVID-19–Related Deaths
• The Toll of COVID-19
• COVID-19 and Excess All-Cause Mortality in the US and 18 Comparison Countries
• Excess Deaths From COVID-19, Community Bereavement, and Restorative Justice for Communities of Color
• COVID-19 Mortality in the most affected countries
• Individual and community-level risk for COVID-19 mortality in the United States

Last Updated on March 17, 2021 by Vincent Iannelli, MD