Coronavirus death toll may be undercounted by thousands in Pennsylvania and New Jersey

The coronavirus may have killed up to 9% more Pennsylvanians than the reported death toll for the month of April, an Inquirer data analysis suggests.

The state’s official number of COVID-19 deaths for the month is 3,200, but the number of deaths from all causes was 3,500 above the five-year average for April. That means as many as 300 additional deaths could have been due to coronavirus.

In New Jersey, which has been more up to date in recording death certificates, the possible undercount is even larger. As of May 9, some 9,100 deaths had been attributed to COVID-19, while the number of deaths from any cause was more than 12,000 above the state’s five-year average in the same time period. If those deaths were due to coronavirus, that would increase the virus’ death tally by a dramatic 32%.

As Yale University researchers have found elsewhere in the country, much of the likely undercount in each state can be explained by an unprecedented spike in deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza.

Read more: https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/pennsylvania-new-jersey-virus-death-undercount-statistics-20200526.html