The Ministry of Health is changing the way Covid-19 deaths are reported, with the new measure being deaths from Covid-19 that can be wholly or partially attributed to the virus.
Deaths were previously included if the person had contracted Covid-19 within 28 days before their death.
Public Health Agency’s Deputy Director-General Dr Andrew Old said using the new measure it showed that there was 1252 deaths of New Zealanders where Covid was the underlying or contributing cause of death.
He said the MoH was "shifting away from reporting all people who have died within 28 days of the Covid-19 infection, to people who have died because of the Covid-19 infection or where it was recorded as a contributing factor".
Public Health Agency’s Dr Andrew Old made the announcement, saying there had been 1,252 deaths overall using that measure. (Source: 1News)
"The focus on reporting Covid-19 deaths will shift to cases where Covid-19 is either the underlying or a contributing cause of a death."
They will also report on people hospitalised where the main reason they're in hospital is Covid-19, or with Covid-19 as a contributor.
"This is a more meaningful measure," he said.
He said that Covid-19 was the cause of death or a contributing factor in two-thirds to three-quarters of people included under the previous measure.
There were 21 new deaths reported on Tuesday.
Professor Michael Baker was pleased the ministry was following the reporting standard specified by the World Health Organization, which will allow for meaningful comparisons across different countries and time periods.
"All health agencies and researchers want health statistics that are valid, i.e. that measure what they intend to measure," he said.
"This change will therefore increase the confidence we have that deaths attributed to Covid-19 are valid. I am pleased to see that all of our Covid-19 mortality data will be revised to incorporate this change, including current and previously reported numbers."
He said it's likely numbers will continue to be underestimated, however.
"Covid-19 infection can cause death from heart attacks and strokes and other causes that may not be attributed to this condition. We know that deaths from other infections such as influenza have always been hugely underestimated. Only about 5% of deaths linked to influenza have this infection recorded as the cause of death. This problem is partly because of the way that mortality reporting focused on the underlying cause of death, so tends to default to any major chronic illnesses that a patient had, rather than acute infections that contributed to their death at that time."
Professor Michael Baker told the Science Media Centre the "pandemic is shining a light on the complexity of ensuring that health data are as valid as possible, and the need to keep improving our methods".
"It is likely that reporting of Covid-19 deaths will continue to underestimate numbers," he said. "Covid-19 infection can cause death from heart attacks and strokes and other causes that may not be attributed to this condition. We know that deaths from other infections such as influenza have always been hugely underestimated."
Immunologist Associate Professor Dianne Sika-Paotonu said there was still "much work to be done at this time with significant immunity gaps in Aotearoa New Zealand right now".
"Masks, Covid-19 vaccines and proper ventilation within the education setting remain important for protection, particularly for children, tamariki and tamaiti aged 5-11 years and those still needing to be vaccinated against Covid-19. Many adults also still need their Covid-19 boosters as well."
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