Reproduced from Bilinski, et al., 2020, "COVID-19 and Excess All-Cause Mortality in the US and 18 Comparison Countries"; Note: The units in the chart were corrected to show the deaths are per 100,000 people (not deaths per one million people.); Chart: Axios Visuals
Although other wealthy countries have higher overall coronavirus mortality rates than the United States, the U.S. death rate since May is unrivaled among its peers, according to a new study published in JAMA.
Between the lines: After the first brutal wave of outbreaks, other countries did much better than the U.S. at learning from their mistakes and preventing more of their population from dying.
Why it matters: "If the US had comparable death rates with most high-mortality countries beginning May 10, it would have had 44,210 to 104,177 fewer deaths," the authors conclude.
- Excess deaths have followed a similar pattern: The hardest-hit European countries had similar or higher rates of excess deaths of all causes to the U.S. early on, but these fell much lower than the U.S.' did after the first wave.
Yes, but: Death rates are not static, as this study proves, and outbreaks in several European countries have taken a turn for the worse lately.
