Do you think a lot of deaths are being classed as 'COVID?'

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Is it true that say if someone got COVID and died within 28 days with non COVID reasons e.g. accident, cancer, heart attack etc they still get classed as COVID death?

It’s also amazing how so many people seem to know some who died of Covid despite previously being a super fit marathon runner in their early 30s with no underlying health conditions

There seems to be a lot of this but then others quote stats that show it’s a tiny percentage.

@IrkedEssex

^Totp: This question insinuates that there is a conspiracy to inflate the COVID figures. I don’t believe this. If someone dies within 28 days of a positive test, the likelihood is that COVID contributed to their death.^

It is indeed likely and I don't think there is a conspiracy. BUT inflating Covid death figures for any reason is unacceptable because we do not have accurate figures for cases, and cannot unless everyone is tested. Therefore the death rate is always going to be artificially high and this is unhelpful.

No you don't know that this inflates the death rate, it may in fact underreport it in a lot of cases as well ( those who are very ill of Covid for more than 4 weeks before dying ) What is not clear is which of those effects is the strongest . As with all data whichever way you collect it will have limitations

I have to say its a horrible mess. If the average age of Covid deaths is 82 then that is over the average age of death in the UK so something isnt right here.

Telling our young people to hide away, wreck their futures etc for this is just wrong.

Yes, but it may be outweighed by those who died who aren't diagnosed with covid at the beginning

@Bathroom12345

I have to say its a horrible mess. If the average age of Covid deaths is 82 then that is over the average age of death in the UK so something isnt right here.

Telling our young people to hide away, wreck their futures etc for this is just wrong.

UK life expectancy at age 82 is eight years for men and nine years for women.

"No you don't know that this inflates the death rate, it may in fact underreport it in a lot of cases as well ( those who are very ill of Covid for more than 4 weeks before dying ) What is not clear is which of those effects is the strongest . As with all data whichever way you collect it will have limitations"

@bumblingbovine49 - they are picking up 60 day cases as well. And the ONS (with a necessary time lag in reporting) is picking up every death certificate where Covid is mentioned. So ultimately all the deaths are going to be picked up one way or another. But not every case will be unless everyone is tested.

Yeah the figures with COVID on desth certificate is much higher.

This was discussed on Radio 4. There isn't a perfect way to know if millions of people are walking around carrying Covid19, at any moment, because the majority of those uncovered by totally random testing have no symptoms at all. Not every person dying of every cause is tested, post mortem, to see if they had also had Covid19. But another group die with obvious Covid19, and may not be given an autopsy which would have shown they were co-morbid, even with a burst appendix, during their final coma.
Therefore, some will be given the incorrect primary cause of death, either way.

Therefore, the most reliable figure is the population's excess deaths rate.

@Cuppaand2biscuits

Yes, people who have gone into hospital because they are old and would die anyway are catching Covid in hospital and dying, not because they have Covid but because they are old and unwell and would have died anyway.

This.

And I think the number of cases has gone up because we are now testing so many people without symptoms, like every single person who goes into a hospital for any kind of minor treatment or test. They are counted, but would have never known they had it if they hadn’t had to use a hospital for something else.

Same for groups of people who are routinely tested every week now when they weren’t first time round, like care staff.

No.