Maintaining the Utility of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic Severity Surveillance: Evaluation of Trends in Attributable Deaths and Development and Validation of a Measurement Tool.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Death within a specified time window following a positive SARS-CoV-2 test is used by some agencies for attributing death to COVID-19. With Omicron variants, widespread immunity, and asymptomatic screening, there is cause to re-evaluate COVID-19 death attribution methods and develop tools to improve case ascertainment.

Methods

All patients who died following microbiologically confirmed SARS-CoV-2 in the Veterans Health Administration (VA) and at Tufts Medical Center (TMC) were identified. Records of selected vaccinated VA patients with positive tests in 2022, and of all TMC patients with positive tests in 2021-2022, were manually reviewed to classify deaths as COVID-19-related (either directly caused by or contributed to), focused on deaths within 30 days. Logistic

SUBMITTER: Trottier C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10640692 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature