Such “excess death” analyses are a standard tool used by epidemiologists to gauge the true toll of infectious-disease outbreaks and other widespread disasters. To calculate excess deaths, the researchers subtracted their estimate of expected deaths from the overall number of deaths reported by the National Center for Health Statistics. The covid-19 death toll, a key data point in shaping the public-health response to the pandemic, has become a political flash point. Nationally, between March 1 and May 9, covid-19 deaths accounted for about 74 percent of excess deaths. Place All deaths Excess deaths Reported covid-19 deaths Covid-19 deaths as % of excess deaths Show all *Covid-19-reported deaths exceed excess estimateThat is a common pattern in an epidemic, said Robert N. Anderson, chief of mortality statistics at the NCHS.

Source: Washington Post May 30, 2020 13:07 UTC