In more than two years of the pandemic that cannot be traced to Covid, the United States has suffered roughly 300,000 more deaths than usual, with studies blaming lockdowns and delays in healthcare.
According to the most recent official data, there were 1.26 million extra fatalities between February 2020 and the end of 2022, of which about 295,000 did not have Covid listed as the primary cause of death on their death certificates.
Non-COVID Deaths In US
During the pandemic, they are thought to be largely made up of increases in deaths from cancer, heart disease, drug overdoses, and weapons, although a thorough analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is still likely weeks away.
Dr. Coady Wing, an Indiana University health policy expert, told DailyMail.com that these pandemic restrictions kept individuals who needed care the most away from doctors’ offices, perhaps costing thousands of lives.
Data from practically every country that implemented lockdowns in the spring of 2020 show a significant increase in deaths from other causes such as heart disease, cancer, and other prevalent maladies.
According to leading UK specialists, up to 3,000 Britons die each week as a result of disturbances to daily life caused by the country’s severe lockdowns, for example. During the week ending January 13, the country recorded 2,837 extra fatalities, with only 5% attributable to Covid.
Some analysts believe that the recent spike in other causes of death in the United Kingdom could have been avoided if severe lockdowns had not been implemented. Between February 1, 2020, and December 31, 2022, the United States saw 1,265,751 extra fatalities, according to the CDC.
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Reason Behind Excessive Fatalities
Unlike the United Kingdom and other European countries, the United States did not declare a state of emergency; instead, the federal government delegated pandemic decisions to state, county, and city officials.
While some states issued strong restrictions, such as California and New York, others, such as Florida and Texas, ignored state-level orders entirely.
Even after several of these prohibitions were lifted, many clinics turned their focus to telemedicine services rather than in-person doctor appointments in order to keep individuals out of the hospital and prevent the virus from spreading among the most vulnerable.
Many Americans choose to postpone doctor visits out of fear of the virus and to prevent overburdening healthcare institutions. This combined to generate an increase in mortality caused by factors other than the virus during the pandemic.
The CDC predicts a 5% increase in cancer fatalities in 2020, and a 2021 study discovered that cancer diagnoses in America are now being recognized later than normal, increasing the mortality risk of each case.
A study conducted last year by experts at the Dartmouth Institute in New Hampshire discovered a 22% rise in Alzheimer’s death in the first year of the pandemic.
According to CDC researchers, heart disease fatalities increased by 4% in 2020, signifying ‘nearly five years of lost progress’ in the fight against America’s greatest killer, according to a 2022 study.
They discovered that missed appointments were responsible for 25 to 33 percent of non-Covid mortality during the first two months of the pandemic. This is due to people failing to attend surgeries, tests, and other important treatments.
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