How COVID death counts become the stuff of conspiracy theories

Juan Lopez went from moving 15 bodies a week before the pandemic to 22 some days in Texas' Rio Grande Valley. He often works overnight, picking up bodies from hospitals, nursing homes and houses and delivering them to funeral homes or a local morgue. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

In the waning days of the campaign, President Donald Trump complained repeatedly about how the United States tracks the number of people who have died from COVID-19, claiming, "This country and its reporting systems are just not doing it right."

He went on to blame those reporting systems for inflating the number of deaths, pointing a finger at medical professionals, who he said benefit financially.

All that feeds into the swirling political doubts that surround the pandemic, and raises questions about how deaths are reported and tallied.

We asked experts to explain how it's done and to discuss whether the current figure — an estimated 231,000 deaths since the pandemic began — is in the ballpark.