Historically High Excess Mortality During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Switzerland, Sweden, and Spain

Staub, Kaspar; Panczak, Radoslaw; Matthes, Katarina L.; Floris, Joël; Berlin, Claudia; Junker, Christoph; Weitkunat, Rolf; Mamelund, Svenn-Erik; Zwahlen, Marcel; Riou, Julien

doi:10.7326/m21-3824

Cited by 19 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 39 publications

(44 reference statements)

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“…For 2020, all three countries showed the second largest infection-related mortality since the beginning of the 20th century. This study is consistent with our findings in that it finds that excess mortality substantially exceeds official deaths reported from COVID-19 ( 61 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…In this context, it is interesting to mention that mortality data is accessible for many countries, but few countries keep continuous death records for longer time periods. One study is of particular interest as it compares the excess mortality impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 in Switzerland to Sweden and Spain – the three European countries that have reliable continuous data on death counts which were not impacted by world wars ( 61 ). For 2020, all three countries showed the second largest infection-related mortality since the beginning of the 20th century.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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COVID-19 Autopsies Reveal Underreporting of SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Scarcity of Co-infections

Schwab¹,

Nienhold²,

Henkel

et al. 2022

Front. Med.

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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mortality can be estimated based on reliable mortality data. Variable testing procedures and heterogeneous disease course suggest that a substantial number of COVID-19 deaths is undetected. To address this question, we screened an unselected autopsy cohort for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 and a panel of common respiratory pathogens. Lung tissues from 62 consecutive autopsies, conducted during the first and second COVID-19 pandemic waves in Switzerland, were analyzed for bacterial, viral and fungal respiratory pathogens including SARS-CoV-2. SARS-CoV-2 was detected in 28 lungs of 62 deceased patients (45%), although only 18 patients (29%) were reported to have COVID-19 at the time of death. In 23 patients (37% of all), the clinical cause of death and/or autopsy findings together with the presence of SARS-CoV-2 suggested death due to COVID-19. Our autopsy results reveal a 16% higher SARS-CoV-2 infection rate and an 8% higher SARS-CoV-2 related mortality rate than reported by clinicians before death. The majority of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients (75%) did not suffer from respiratory co-infections, as long as they were treated with antibiotics. In the lungs of 5 patients (8% of all), SARS-CoV-2 was found, yet without typical clinical and/or autopsy findings. Our findings suggest that underreporting of COVID-19 contributes substantially to excess mortality. The small percentage of co-infections in SARS-CoV-2 positive patients who died with typical COVID-19 symptoms strongly suggests that the majority of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients died from and not with the virus.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 Autopsies Reveal Underreporting of SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Scarcity of Co-infections

Schwab¹,

Nienhold²,

Henkel

et al. 2022

Front. Med.

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“…Our estimate of the excess death for 2020 was consistent with the excess of 6800 deaths estimated by [4] for Switzerland by applying and projecting a Poisson model on weekly deaths for the years 2016-2019 stratified by age and sex. It was, however, lower than the excess of 8429 deaths estimated by [12] applying and projecting a negative binomial model on weekly deaths of years 2015-2019. Our estimate was also lower than the excess of 8600 deaths estimated via a linear model by [13] for 2020 and the first half of 2021 (considering that the first six months of 2021 had a negative excess of deaths [10,12]).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

“…It was, however, lower than the excess of 8429 deaths estimated by [12] applying and projecting a negative binomial model on weekly deaths of years 2015-2019. Our estimate was also lower than the excess of 8600 deaths estimated via a linear model by [13] for 2020 and the first half of 2021 (considering that the first six months of 2021 had a negative excess of deaths [10,12]). In addition, our estimate of excess death for the entire 2020-21 period was more than two times lower than the excess of 15,500 deaths obtained for Switzerland by a recent analysis of excess mortality for the entire planet [14].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

“…On the other hand, while a few studies have been published concerning the excess death of (part of) the year 2021 [12][13], or globally for the period 2020-21 [14], no study has yet, to our knowledge, estimated the life expectancy achieved for the year 2021, nor analyzed the association between age and excess (or under-) mortality that year. The reason is certainly related to the time needed to obtain definitive data on deaths in a given country, and Switzerland is no exception, because part of the deaths are registered with delay by the Offices.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mortality in Switzerland in 2021

Locatelli

Rousson

2022

Preprint

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Objective: To analyze mortality trends in Switzerland in 2021, the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Using data from the Swiss Federal Statistical Office, we compared mortality in Switzerland in 2021 with that of previous years in terms of standardized weekly deaths, standardized (annual) mortality rates (overall and stratified by age and sex) and life expectancy. Results: After a favorable first half of the year and a fairly standard second half in terms of mortality in Switzerland, the year 2021 ended with a wave of deaths of moderate intensity related to the 5th wave of COVID-19. Overall, and after a notable increase in mortality in 2020 (+9.2% compared to 2019), the pre-pandemic mortality level was approximately recovered in 2021 (+0.6% compared to 2019). Life expectancy, after declining by 10 months for men and 6 months for women in 2020, returned in 2021 to levels slightly above those of 2019 for women (85.7 years, +0.1 years from 2019) and regained 2018 levels for men (81.6 years, still -0.3 years from 2019). The age group responsible for the small remaining loss for men was the 50-70 age group, which had similar mortality in 2020 and 2021. Conclusions: The second year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland was characterized by an approximate return to pre-pandemic mortality levels, with a faster recovery for women than for men compared to 2020.

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A nanozyme-linked immunosorbent assay based on Au@CeO2@Pt nanozymes for colorimetric and fluorescent detection of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein

Cao,

Sun,

Pei

et al. 2023

Microchemical Journal

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Historically High Excess Mortality During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Switzerland, Sweden, and Spain

Cited by 19 publications

References 39 publications

COVID-19 Autopsies Reveal Underreporting of SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Scarcity of Co-infections

COVID-19 Autopsies Reveal Underreporting of SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Scarcity of Co-infections

Mortality in Switzerland in 2021

A nanozyme-linked immunosorbent assay based on Au@CeO2@Pt nanozymes for colorimetric and fluorescent detection of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein

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