After COVID got weak, elderly in NZ died more

Post #599

The lethality of Omicron variant COVID is lower than previous variants, and is even less than that for seasonal flu, but that didn’t stop the elderly in New Zealand from dying a whole lot more than they ever did before:

For the first time ever, there were over 300 monthly deaths in those from age 55 to 64, over 600 monthly deaths in those from age 65 to 74, over 1,100 monthy deaths in those from age 75 to 84, and over 1,200 monthly deaths in those from age 85 to 94 — a death count about 50% higher than what is typical for them.

But by the end of the first month of 2022 (marked as “2022-1”), Omicron variant predominated in New Zealand:

Because COVID was weaker all throughout 2022 (compared to 2020 and 2021), but the NZ deaths were higher then, the explanation for these extra deaths requires a non-COVID cause.

Reference

[monthly deaths by age in New Zealand] — https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/births-and-deaths-year-ended-december-2022-including-abridged-period-life-table/

[relative prevalence of Omicron variant in New Zealand] — OWID. https://ourworldindata.org/covid-cases