COVID effect to cause ‘excess’ deaths in Australia for years to come

Australia could continue to feel the tail effects of the COVID-19 pandemic for years as more people die because of the virus and its impacts. Some 8400 more people died in 2023 than would have been expected under pre-pandemic conditions, an Actuaries Institute report, released on Monday, found. The figure was down from the 20,000
COVID effect to cause ‘excess’ deaths in Australia for years to come

Australia could continue to feel the tail effects of the COVID-19 pandemic for years as more people die because of the virus and its impacts.

Some 8400 more people died in 2023 than would have been expected under pre-pandemic conditions, an Actuaries Institute report, released on Monday, found.

The figure was down from the 20,000 ‘excess’ deaths recorded in 2022.

Of the extra deaths logged in 2023, 4600 were directly because of COVID-19 while another 1500 were linked to the virus.

The institute’s mortality working group said the substantial drop in excess deaths between the two years had not prevented the 2023 rate sitting higher than it had during bad flu years before the pandemic.

‘We think COVID-19 is likely to cause some excess mortality for several years to come, either as a direct cause of death or a contributing factor to other causes such as heart disease,’ actuary Karen Cutter said.

‘In our view, the ‘new normal’ level of mortality is likely to be higher than it would have been if we hadn’t had the pandemic.’

A higher death rate could remain as things such as vaccination rates and jabs’ efficacy continued to be managed, Australian National University epidemiology lecturer Rezanur Rahaman said.

‘It could be said that the excess deaths will continue for some time as it is a highly contagious respiratory pathogen that will not die out anytime soon,’ he told AAP.

Death rates in Australia could be impacted for years by the lingering effects of COVID-19

Death rates in Australia could be impacted for years by the lingering effects of COVID-19 

But University of Technology Sydney bio-statistics professor Andrew Hayen noted the report found the age-standardised death rate in 2023 was almost the same as in 2019.

‘We’ve already witnessed a considerable decline in excess deaths as measured by the Actuaries Institute (and) we are likely to see a continued decline in mortality, particularly due to COVID,’ he said.

It was difficult to attribute deaths specifically to post-COVID effects, rather than reduced health care during the pandemic, Professor Hayen said.

‘Many of the deaths in 2022 were probably due to mortality displacement and there may also be issues relating to pressures on emergency services and delays in standard care, like elective surgery rates,’ he said.

‘However, it’s not possible to attribute exactly what proportion is attributable to putative causes.’

Comparing Australia’s experience with 40 other countries, the actuaries’ report found the local excess death rate of five per cent between 2020 and 2023 was low by global standards, which averaged 11 per cent.

Total
0
Shares
Leave a Reply
Related Posts
BREAKING NEWSJust Stop Oil activists who threw tomato soup over priceless Van Gogh Sunflowers painting are found guilty of criminal damage
Read More

BREAKING NEWSJust Stop Oil activists who threw tomato soup over priceless Van Gogh Sunflowers painting are found guilty of criminal damage

Just Stop Oil activists who threw tomato soup over a priceless Van Gogh painting have been found guilty of criminal damage.  Anna Holland and Phoebe Plummer, both 22, flung two tins of Heinz soup at the Dutch artist's 1888 masterpiece while it was on display at the National Gallery on October 14, 2022. The pair then
Russia Expands Military Presence in Cuba with Baltic Fleet Visit
Read More

Russia Expands Military Presence in Cuba with Baltic Fleet Visit

Cuba announced on Wednesday that three vessels from Russia’s Baltic Fleet will visit the island nation starting Saturday, marking the second Russian war flotilla to visit the country in recent weeks. The Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba (Minfar) made the announcement on social media in the evening hours of Wednesday, informing that
The ‘Jackson Three’ hitting their stride just in time for stretch runThe ‘Jackson Three’ hitting their stride just in time for stretch run
Read More

The ‘Jackson Three’ hitting their stride just in time for stretch runThe ‘Jackson Three’ hitting their stride just in time for stretch run

The 'Jackson Three' hitting their stride just in time for stretch run 3:03 AM UTC Manny Randhawa @MannyOnMLB Share share-square-499430 When expecting parents are pondering a name for the child they will soon welcome into the world, there are many elements to take into consideration. Apparently, from 2002-04, one of them was the hope that

Postal worker caught on viral TikTok allegedly hurling boxes of mail into dumpster: ‘Don’t tell me this is what y’all do to get rid of mail’

A brazen US Postal Service worker in Tennessee was caught red-handed hurling multiple boxes of what appeared to be mail into a dumpster in a viral video posted to social media. TikTok user @Mrs_Denton19 was dumbfounded as she watched the unidentified USPS worker in uniform go back and forth from his mail van and dump