The UK’s Office For National Statistics has just released a report which “Examines death registrations not involving coronavirus (COVID-19), to understand the apparent increase in deaths”. It nonetheless suggests that a significant number of the UK’s recent “excess deaths” that make no mention of Covid-19 on the death certificate might well have been caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In section 5 concerning “Deaths due to dementia and Alzheimer disease” the ONS point out that:
The sudden rise in deaths due to dementia and Alzheimer disease is so sharp that it is implausible that the full increase observed could have happened by chance. The absence of large rises in deaths due to this cause that mention conditions that could exhibit similar symptoms to COVID-19 suggests that if COVID-19 is involved in the increase in deaths due to dementia and Alzheimer disease, the usual symptoms of COVID-19 were not apparent. This could fit with recent clinical observations, where atypical hypoxia has been observed in some COVID-19 patients. In someone with advanced dementia and Alzheimer disease, the symptoms of COVID-19 might be difficult to distinguish from their underlying illness, especially with the possibility of communication difficulties.
The terms “Covid-19 Hypoxia” and “silent hypoxia” have been used in the medical literature for quite some time, amongst other things to suggest that “overuse of intubation” for Covid-19 patients should be addressed.
We await further news on the attribution of UK deaths to the many effects of the SARS-Cov-2 virus with interest.