From CDC data, 2020 has the lowest weekly death rate in a decade – so far
A pandemic that commands the attention of the public, and action by the medical field, is one that sickens many people, overwhelms healthcare resources, and raises the total death rate above that of a typical year or season. The COVID-19 era that began in early 2020 has received much attention in the United States for deaths that have occurred during this time. Has COVID-19 resulted in more deaths (known as “excess deaths”) than would have happened in a typical year? An obstacle to answering that question is that testing for COVID-19 is flawed from being both inaccurate and imprecise, for reasons discussed herein, and it is difficult to distinguish COVID-19 from other respiratory illnesses, due to symptoms and signs that are mostly indistinguishable from the common cold, flu or pneumonia. It is possible that flu and pneumonia deaths, and perhaps others, have been ascribed to COVID-19, especially due to peculiarities in mortality reporting discussed below.