More than 3,500 people have died from long COVID-19 in the United States, accounting for about .3% of all coronavirus deaths, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

While the tally is likely an undercount, health experts say it marks the first official report looking at long COVID mortality.

But what the report doesn’t capture is how the post-COVID condition can rob lives without being fatal, said Dr. David Putrino, director of Rehabilitation Innovation and Abilities Research Center at the Mount Sinai Health System.

“Many people with long COVID are extremely disabled as a result of their illness,” he said. “I very much hope that these data are not being taken in any way to measure the severity of Long COVID.”
Who is dying from long COVID?

Researchers analyzed COVID-19 death certificate data from January 2020 to June 2022, looking for long COVID key terms along with the official mortality code for a COVID-related death.

They identified 3,544 deaths mentioning one or more of the several key terms plus the mortality code.
Deaths from long COVID peaked in June 2021 and again in April 2022.
67.5% of long COVID deaths listed “COVID-19” as an underlying cause.
Long COVID deaths were similar between men and women at 51.5% and 48.5%, respectively.
Long COVID deaths were highest among people aged 75 to 84 (28.8%), followed by people aged 85 and older (28.1%).

What the report fails to show

The report may have failed to capture other deaths associated with long COVID because an official mortality code for death certificates wasn't used, health experts say. Putrino said this could include: 

Suicides: Young and previously healthy Americans devastated by the debilitating effects of long COVID who chose to die by suicide. 
Cardiovascular events: In some cases, long COVID ravages the cardiovascular system, which could to a heart attack or stroke. Death certificates may have been coded to reflect a cardiovascular event but not COVID-19. 

hackmd.io/@avaterfullmovie/rJqNi2hdi