Social media messages questioning the severity of the coronavirus pandemic in Scotland misleadingly indicate that the only ‘real deaths’ from COVID-19 were among people who mentioned COVID-19 only as a cause of death on their death certificates.
A post posted on Twitter on February 13 (here) reads: “#FOI returned from 6 no. @ NHSuk boards in #Scotland. Only 94 deaths directly from # Covid19 out of a population of 2 MILLION people. Further FOI returns to follow. Based on this data, the number of deaths directly (exclusively) from Covid in Flag of Scotland will be 250-300. Shine a light on this! ‘
The tweet linked a list of Freedom of Information (FOI) questions to ask questions such as: ‘what is the number of patients in A&A hospitals who just died from COVID’ (here), which is the ‘number of deaths recorded only up to COVID-19’ (here) and deaths where ‘COVID is listed as the sole cause of death’ (here).
As the tweet said, only six NHS boards in Scotland responded to the FOI. This means that the figure ’94 deaths’ is missing from more than half of the boards consulted, and cannot be presented as a complete figure or to make predictions.
The table also shows the figures provided in response to the FOIs as ‘actual deaths due to COVID-19 in 2020’ (here). The idea that those who only died of COVID-19 are the only people who ‘actually’ died of COVID-19 is misleading.
As Full Fact’s fact checkers noted last year, this logic can be interpreted as the fact that only patients without prior conditions died from the new coronavirus, which is incorrect (here).
The issue is related to comorbidity, the existence of two or more conditions or diseases in a patient. It does not exclude COVID-19, but combines it with other diseases, often caused by the new coronavirus itself.
Dr Maja Artandi, medical director of the Stanford CROWN Clinic for COVID-19 patients (here), rejected a similar 2020 assertion that only 6% of COVID-related deaths in the US “died”. that it was ‘not a big surprise’. Most COVID-19 deaths involved other conditions.
This is because ‘patients with a comorbidity such as diabetes, high blood pressure or obesity are at greater risk of becoming seriously ill and dying from COVID-19.’ The numbers also correspond to the fact that the new coronavirus can ’cause serious damage to the organs in the body, such as the lungs, which then leads to respiratory failure and death.’
The most important thing to understand, dr. Artandi said, is that “if they had not contracted the infection … they would still be alive.” (here).
Official government data as of 16 February recorded 6,764 deaths in Scotland following a positive test. And the second measure of mortality – deaths where COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, either as an underlying cause or as a contributing factor, stands at – and 8,726 (here, explain bit.ly/3b43qfy).
VERDICT
Missing context. An incomplete set of figures obtained by FOI requests suggests deaths ‘only’ of COVID-19 as the only ‘real’ deaths due to the new coronavirus. Most COVID-19 deaths, however, involve complications caused by the infection and / or pre-existing conditions that have made an individual more vulnerable to the disease, but COVID-19 still played a role in their death.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here.