Estimated preventable COVID-19-associated deaths due to non-vaccination in the United States.

While some studies have previously estimated lives saved by COVID-19 vaccination, we estimate how many deaths could have been averted by vaccination in the US but were not because of a failure to vaccinate. We used a simple method based on a nationally representative dataset to estimate the preventable deaths among unvaccinated individuals in the US from May 30, 2021 to September 3, 2022 adjusted for the effects of age and time. We estimated that at least 232,000 deaths could have been prevented among unvaccinated adults during the 15 months had they been vaccinated with at least a primary series. While uncertainties exist regarding the exact number of preventable deaths and more granular data are needed on other factors causing differences in death rates between the vaccinated and unvaccinated groups to inform these estimates, this method is a rapid assessment on vaccine-preventable deaths due to SARS-CoV-2 that has crucial public health implications. The same rapid method can be used for future public health emergencies.

How people with intellectual disability are dying and implications for quality care

The characteristics of quality end-of-life care for people with intellectual disability are becoming increasingly clear. The research also shows the urgent and growing need for care, for an ageing population with increased incidence of life-limiting illnesses requiring often extended periods of care. A necessary first step to providing quality end-of-life care is to understand the conditions under which this group currently experiences death. This chapters uses the international literature to offer a picture about the current patterns of death, including death causes, age at and place of death, anticipated and potentially avoidable deaths, and deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout, comparisons are made to the general population. Reflection questions to translate research to practice are given, as well as practical resources. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

How people with intellectual disability are dying and implications for quality care

The characteristics of quality end-of-life care for people with intellectual disability are becoming increasingly clear. The research also shows the urgent and growing need for care, for an ageing population with increased incidence of life-limiting illnesses requiring often extended periods of care. A necessary first step to providing quality end-of-life care is to understand the conditions under which this group currently experiences death. This chapters uses the international literature to offer a picture about the current patterns of death, including death causes, age at and place of death, anticipated and potentially avoidable deaths, and deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout, comparisons are made to the general population. Reflection questions to translate research to practice are given, as well as practical resources. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Quantifying and communicating the burden of COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: An essential aspect of preventing further COVID-19 outbreaks and to learn for future pandemics is the evaluation of different political strategies, which aim at reducing transmission of and mortality due to COVID-19. One important aspect in this context is the comparison of attributable mortality. METHODS: We give a comprehensive overview of six epidemiological measures that are used to quantify COVID-19 attributable mortality (p-score, standardized mortality ratio, absolute number of excess deaths, per capita rate, z-score and the population attributable fraction). RESULTS: By defining the six measures based on observed and expected deaths, we explain their relationship. Moreover, three publicly available data examples serve to illustrate the interpretational strengths and weaknesses of the various measures. Finally, we give recommendation which measures are suitable for an evaluation of public health strategies against COVID-19. The R code to reproduce the results is available as online supplementary material. CONCLUSION: The number of excess deaths should be always reported together with the population attributable fraction, the p-score or the standardized mortality ratio instead of a per capita rate. For a complete picture of COVID-19 attributable mortality, quantifying and communicating its relative burden also to a lay audience is of major importance.