More than 150,000 uncounted COVID-19 deaths occurred early in the pandemic, a study finds
More than 150,000 uncounted COVID-19 deaths occurred early in the pandemic, a study finds
Steve Grove, a chaplain at Hennepin County Medical Center, prays in a COVID-19 patient's room, Dec. 10, 2021, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)
Steve Grove, a chaplain at Hennepin County Medical Center, prays in a COVID-19 patient’s room, Dec. 10, 2021, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)
By MIKE STOBBE Updated 1:08 PM CDT, March 18, 2026
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NEW YORK (AP) — .......................
About 840,000 COVID-19 deaths were reported on death certificates in 2020 and 2021. But a group of researchers — using a form of artificial intelligence — estimate that as many as 155,000 unrecognized additional deaths likely occurred in that time outside of hospitals. That would mean about 16% of COVID-19 deaths went uncounted in those years.
The overall findings, published Wednesday by the journal Science Advances, were close to estimates from other studies of pandemic deaths during that time. But the authors of the new study tried to determine exactly which deaths were more likely to be missing from the official tallies.
The answer: The undiagnosed dead were more likely to be Hispanic people and other people of color, who had died in the first few months of the pandemic, and who had been in certain states in the South and Southwest — including Alabama, Oklahoma and South Carolina.
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The count has long been debated, as false claims on social media said the number of COVID-19 deaths was inflated. Adding to the rancor was President Donald Trump, who in August 2020 retweeted a post claiming only 6% of reported deaths were actually from COVID-19 — a post Twitter later removed...................
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Hospitals, clinics and doctors' offices told hundreds (maybe thousands) of patients to STAY HOME and don't come to the hospital. This was in the early days of the pandemic when the emergency wards were overwhelmed and they had little ability to stop spreading the virus.
My friend was one of those people who was told to stay home, and she almost died as a result. She was one of the lucky ones because she got through it ON HER OWN, even though her symptoms were severe and she had trouble breathing.
The truth is that most areas didn't have enough hospital beds, nor enough medical personnel, to treat the early Covid victims. They weren't equipped with sufficient protective clothing (PPP) for the employees who were treating Covid victims on a daily basis. Hospitals were overwhelmed as the employees themselves got sick, and many died.
I can certainly believe that victims died alone at home, with no Covid diagnosis in those early days. It almost happened to my friend. It was a terrifying time ... almost 9 months when most of us older folks were afraid to leave the house. Things changed gradually, when the vaccine became available in 2021.
