Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been 1,277,697 more deaths in the U.S. than anticipated, and almost 90% of these excess deaths were directly attributable to COVID infections, according to a study published July 18 in the American Journal of Public Health.
Using CDC data, researchers examined excess deaths in all 50 states between March 2020 and July 2023 and also found that 51.5% of excess deaths happened after COVID-19 vaccines became available.
Researchers found "the highest excess death rates first occurred in the Northeast and then shifted to the South and mountain states."
They also evaluated whether each area where increased excess deaths occurred had a Democrat or Republican governor and overall representation, which revealed that excess death "rates were higher in states with Republican governors and greater Republican representation in state legislatures," the researchers wrote. Researchers found the excess deaths were "associated with partisan representation in state government, although the influence of confounding variables cannot be excluded."