CDC Finds that 94% of US COVID-19 Deaths Include Comorbid Factors
Posted on 09/02/2020
The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 94% of COVID-19 fatalities from February 1, 2020 through August 22, 2020 included some comorbid factors. The CDC data details that people with pre-existing conditions are more likely to have severe effects, require hospitalization, or die from the coronavirus. Heart diseases also appear to play comorbid factors. According to the CDC, nearly 8 in 10 COVID-19 fatalities in the U.S. involved someone 65 or older.
“For deaths with conditions or causes in addition to COVID-19, on average, there were 2.6 additional conditions or causes per death,” the report said.
When someone dies, usually a doctor or clinician will list an immediate cause of death for a state health department’s records.
CDC Link: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid_weekly/index.htm?fbclid=IwAR3-wrg3tTKK5-9tOHPGAHWFVO3DfslkJ0KsDEPQpWmPbKtp6EsoVV2Qs1Q
Table 1. Deaths involving coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), pneumonia, and influenza reported to NCHS by sex and age group. United States. Week ending 2/1/2020 to 8/22/2020
| Sex | Age group | All Deaths involving COVID-19 (U07.1)1 | Deaths from All Causes | Deaths involving Pneumonia, with or without COVID-19, excluding Influenza deaths | Deaths involving COVID-19 and Pneumonia, excluding Influenza | All Deaths involving Influenza, with or without COVID-19 or Pneumonia | Deaths involving Pneumonia, Influenza, or COVID-19 | Population 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (J12.0-J18.9)2 | (U07.1 and J12.0-J18.9)2 | (J09-J11)3 | (U07.1 or J09-J18.9)4 | |||||
| Total | ||||||||
| All ages | 164,280 | 1,778,821 | 169,108 | 72,527 | 6,640 | 266,520 | 327,167,434 | |
| Under 1 year | 17 | 9,835 | 89 | 2 | 16 | 120 | 3,848,208 | |
| 1-4 years | 12 | 1,909 | 66 | 2 | 41 | 117 | 15,962,067 | |
| 5-14 years | 28 | 2,935 | 93 | 8 | 51 | 164 | 41,075,169 | |
| 15-24 years | 280 | 18,594 | 375 | 95 | 52 | 608 | 42,970,800 | |
| 25-34 years | 1,257 | 38,503 | 1,421 | 554 | 150 | 2,260 | 45,697,774 | |
| 35-44 years | 3,301 | 54,563 | 3,158 | 1,435 | 246 | 5,241 | 41,277,888 | |
| 45-54 years | 8,648 | 100,926 | 8,138 | 3,938 | 575 | 13,319 | 41,631,699 | |
| 55-64 years | 20,655 | 231,983 | 21,857 | 9,780 | 1,234 | 33,745 | 42,272,636 | |
| 65-74 years | 34,980 | 351,806 | 37,163 | 16,503 | 1,436 | 56,843 | 30,492,316 | |
| 75-84 years | 43,392 | 430,582 | 46,174 | 19,797 | 1,465 | 71,033 | 15,394,374 | |
| 85 years and over | 51,710 | 537,185 | 50,574 | 20,413 | 1,374 | 83,070 | 6,544,503 | |
| Males | ||||||||
| All ages | 88,716 | 368,276 | 33,635 | 8,785 | 2,989 | 2,990 | 161,128,679 | |
| Under 1 year | 12 | 5,456 | 58 | 2 | 8 | 76 | 1,968,505 | |
| 1-4 years | 6 | 1,118 | 32 | 1 | 25 | 62 | 8,163,697 | |
| 5-14 years | 20 | 1,743 | 49 | 7 | 23 | 85 | 20,974,830 | |
| 15-24 years | 177 | 13,764 | 233 | 60 | 27 | 374 | 21,976,455 | |
| 25-34 years | 844 | 27,147 | 889 | 372 | 76 | 1,428 | 23,210,709 | |
| 35-44 years | 2,270 | 35,953 | 2,017 | 990 | 132 | 3,406 | 20,587,600 | |
| 45-54 years | 5,933 | 63,494 | 5,099 | 2,716 | 341 | 8,585 | 20,541,202 | |
| 55-64 years | 13,523 | 142,958 | 13,360 | 6,357 | 701 | 21,077 | 20,398,863 | |
| 65-74 years | 21,606 | 204,639 | 22,327 | 10,251 | 801 | 34,330 | 14,246,085 | |
| 75-84 years | 23,840 | 223,913 | 25,830 | 11,168 | 729 | 39,117 | 6,735,040 | |
| 85 years and over | 20,485 | 207,353 | 22,492 | 8,898 | 561 | 34,556 | 2,325,693 | |
| Females | ||||||||
| All ages | 75,560 | 851,206 | 76,717 | 31,701 | 3,215 | 123,418 | 166,038,755 | |
| Under 1 year | 5 | 4,365 | 31 | 0 | 8 | 44 | 1,879,703 | |
| 1-4 years | 6 | 791 | 34 | 1 | 16 | 55 | 7,798,370 | |
| 5-14 years | 8 | 1,192 | 44 | 1 | 28 | 79 | 20,100,339 | |
| 15-24 years | 103 | 4,829 | 142 | 35 | 25 | 234 | 20,994,345 | |
| 25-34 years | 413 | 11,354 | 532 | 182 | 74 | 832 | 22,487,065 | |
| 35-44 years | 1,031 | 18,607 | 1,141 | 445 | 114 | 1,835 | 20,690,288 | |
| 45-54 years | 2,714 | 37,429 | 3,038 | 1,221 | 234 | 4,733 | 21,090,497 | |
| 55-64 years | 7,132 | 89,018 | 8,496 | 3,423 | 532 | 12,666 | 21,873,773 | |
| 65-74 years | 13,373 | 147,156 | 14,835 | 6,251 | 635 | 22,512 | 16,246,231 | |
| 75-84 years | 19,551 | 206,656 | 20,343 | 8,628 | 736 | 31,915 | 8,659,334 | |
| 85 years and over | 31,224 | 329,809 | 28,081 | 11,514 | 813 | 48,513 | 4,218,810 |
NOTE: Number of deaths reported in this table are the total number of deaths received and coded as of the date of analysis and do not represent all deaths that occurred in that period. Counts of death occurring before or after the reporting period are not included in the table.
*Data during this period are incomplete because of the lag in time between when the death occurred and when the death certificate is completed, submitted to NCHS and processed for reporting purposes. This delay can range from 1 week to 8 weeks or more, depending on the jurisdiction and cause of death.
1. Deaths with confirmed or presumed COVID-19, coded to ICD–10 code U07.1
2. Counts of deaths involving pneumonia include pneumonia deaths that also involve COVID-19 and exclude pneumonia deaths involving influenza.
3. Counts of deaths involving influenza include deaths with pneumonia or COVID-19 also listed as a cause of death.
4. Deaths with confirmed or presumed COVID-19, pneumonia, or influenza, coded to ICD–10 codes U07.1 or J09–18.9.
5. Population is based on 2018 postcensal estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau
