West Virginia suffered 468 deaths when 481 were expected.
Excess deaths are defined as the difference between the observed number of deaths reported and the average expected number of deaths, based on the same time periods. Death counts are compared with historical trends to identify whether the number of deaths is significantly higher than expected.
A study at the University of California San Francisco examined the death rates relating to pandemic-related unemployment. It projected the spring 2020 rise in unemployment would lead to 30,231 excess deaths within the 25 to 64-year-old age range in the following 12 months.
“Adequately responding to the pandemic involves not only controlling COVID-19 cases and deaths but also addressing indirect social and economic consequences,” said Ellicott Matthay, a postdoctoral scholar with the Center for Health and Community at UCSF, in a paper published by the American Journal of Public Health.
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