Comparison of excess deaths and laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 deaths during a large Omicron epidemic in 2022 in Hong Kong.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Using an elimination strategy, Hong Kong was able to minimise COVID-19 mortality in 2020 and 2021, but a large epidemic caused by the Omicron variant occurred in 2022. We aimed to estimate the overall, age-, sex-, epidemic period- and cause-specific excess mortality in 2022 in Hong Kong and compare excess mortality to laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 mortality.

Methods

We used negative binomial regression analysis to model time series of weekly all-cause and cause-specific deaths from 2010 to 2021 to predict the weekly number of deaths in 2022 against counterfactual baselines projected from the trends in the absence of a pandemic. The estimated excess deaths were compared with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 deaths overall and by age and epidemic period.

Results

SUBMITTER: Xin H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11987577 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature