Q&A of the Day – Has Florida underreported COVID-19 deaths? Part 2
Bottom line: Throughout the pandemic I’ve studied the CDC’s official excess deaths every few months and reported back to you COVID attributed deaths, compared to excess death data. Nationally, excess deaths exceed COVID-19 attributed deaths by about 13%. This is to say that Florida’s excess death disparity is only 2%, or within a margin of error compared with the country as a whole. In other words, while it’s all but certain that Florida has underreported COVID-19 deaths, there’s no evidence presented that Florida’s doing anything intentional or differently than all other states. In fact, there’s no state in the country which has COVID-19 attributed deaths which line up with their excess death totals during the pandemic – meaning every state in the country has likely underreported COVID – related deaths. Simply, there are more people who contract COVID-19 and die from it than are diagnosed with it prior to their death. So, if this is the case, why Florida? That’s where the second part of your question comes into play.
It’s no secret Governor DeSantis has become a national political figure and the perceived leader of the Republican Party this side of Donald Trump. That makes him a key target. Add in the dynamic in which Florida has had the seventh fewest COVID restrictions of any state during the pandemic, along with a well above average economy and in theory, below average cases and deaths...that could explain why Florida’s been singled out all of the sudden by researchers and reporters alike. Yes, Florida has underreported COVID-19 related deaths, no it’s not unusual. This is a case where the story is real but the context isn’t explained or established – leaving the uniformed with a perception that’s likely worse than the reality.
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