Evaluating deaths from COVID-19 versus deaths from influenza worldwide -medical information

Evaluating deaths from COVID-19 versus deaths from influenza worldwide -medical information

According to the CDC, Evaluating deaths from COVID-19 versus deaths from influenza worldwide -medical information the numbers appear similar when comparing deaths from COVID-19 to those from influenza. But is that a comparison between apples and oranges?

Although both viruses can spread in similar ways and both can be fatal, is it fair to compare the number of deaths from COVID-19 with deaths from influenza?

Doctors from Harvard Medical School and Emory University School of Medicine recently conducted an assessment of the way death data are reported for each disease. Their assessment was published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

To see if the current comparison of death data is fair, it is necessary to examine how the death rates are calculated for each virus. Every year, death rates for the flu are calculated by the CDC. However, the CDC does not report the actual number of deaths from the flu, but rather an estimate.

 

 

Evaluating deaths from COVID-19 versus deaths from influenza worldwide -medical information

 

The CDC uses estimates for several reasons. First, many cases of flu are not severe enough to warrant medical attention. Second, patients often postpone seeking medical care until they have had the virus for some time. At this point, the flu tests are not accurate and can often give false negative results. Third, states are not required to report flu deaths to health authorities. The flu can also cause health complications from pre-existing conditions that result in death. However, the flu is not listed as a cause of death.

For example, the actual number of deaths from the flu reported in the five years prior to the pandemic ranged from 3,448 to 15,620 per year. During that time, the CDC estimates of flu deaths were reported as 23,000 to 61,000 per year.

The data for deaths from COVID-19 are currently reported as actual deaths and are not an estimate. For an accurate comparison, say apples to apples, the weekly counts of COVID-19 deaths should be compared to the weekly counts of flu deaths.

The average number of flu deaths in the last week of the flu season over the past seven years was 752.4 deaths. For the week ending April 21, 2020, COVID-19 deaths were reported as 15,455 deaths. That’s twenty times higher than the average death rate for influenza.

Analysis of deaths from COVID-19 versus deaths from influenza reveals limitations in data reporting for COVID-19, e.g. B. Undercounting due to limited testing or false negative results, testing in later stages of the virus, and differences in data reporting.

Doctors’ analysis suggests that when comparing deaths from COVID-19 versus deaths from influenza, the true public health threat from COVID-19 is not accurately identified but not calculated identically.

Written by Rebecca K. Blankenship

 

Evaluating deaths from COVID-19 versus deaths from influenza worldwide -medical information

 

References:

 

 

 

1. Faust J, del Rio C. Assessment of deaths from COVID-19 and seasonal influenza. JAMA Intern Med. 2020; 180 (8): 1045. doi: 10.1001 / jamainternmed.2020.2306

2. Preliminary estimates of influenza exposure for the 2019-2020 season. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/preliminary-in-season-estimates.htm. Published in 2020. Accessed August 5, 2020.

3. Why CDC estimates the burden of influenza in the US | CDC. Cdc.gov. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/why-cdc-estimates.htm. Published in 2020. Accessed August 5, 2020.

Image by janjf93 from Pixabay

Comments are closed.