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Comment by jliptzin | Hacker News Reader

I know for a fact deaths are dramatically under reported (at least in FL) because I have relatives that died of COVID and the nursing homes put congestive heart failure and respiratory failure as cause of death and not COVID. After receiving positive COVID test results...

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It's much less clear cut than that. In fact death with COVID ≠ death from COVID every single time, even for elderly people.

Well sure, and that is a perfectly valid comment at the micro level. However, we can relatively clearly see that the COVID-linked death reporting is under-reported from mortality baselines.

Therefore it's highly likely that for a given death it is more likely to be incorrectly categorise as non-COVID when COVID was responsible, than to be incorrectly designated COVID.

For contrast the UK overcounted its COVID deaths

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/britain-says-it-overcou...

It overcounted some of the test based deaths, but in terms of excess mortality there were probably still more covid deaths than have been reflected in test-positive death numbers, so it’s still an undercount.

Here is some data here on excess deaths: https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2020/07/15/tracking...

The parent is giving an example where it is clear cut.

"Your honor, the man didn't die because I pushed him down the stairs, he died because he hit his head against a wall at the bottom of those stairs.".

In the US if he tested positive for COVID after death, he would have been recorded as a COVID death. Not even joking.

Clearly not, given the grandparent.

From all the varying responses and processes related to COVID-19, there is no single 'the US' policy in any such matter.

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