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It is very important to be aware that there is no uniform way of counting these COVID-19 deaths. It is not just Iran. For example, I believe that Belgium has
by mjul 6y ago
It is very important to be aware that there is no uniform way of counting these COVID-19 deaths.
It is not just Iran.
For example, I believe that Belgium has a very inclusive count (proven or suspected) and other countries count only if proven.
This also means that some countries undercount when they have insufficient testing capacity.
Also, with co-morbidities there is a choice whether to assign the cause of death to these factors or to COVID-19. If someone was dying from lung cancer and also contracted Covid-19 at the end what was the cause of death?
So the rule of thumb is: don’t try to compare numbers between countries.
And also note that in some cases you cannot event compare data locally: for example, in the UK, England and Scotland have different definitions.
- mjul 6y agoI might also add that the WHO (the Word Health Org, not the band) has issued guidelines about how to classify these deaths, including answering the question about co-morbidities. They recommend a very inclusive count. But to put that in a realistic perspective, it is a little bit like if you corporate Enterprise Architecture function published new guidelines for how to ensure data consistency across business units. Publishing a document does not make it so overnight.