PIERRE KORY, MD, MPA
With the investigative journalist Mary Beth Pfeiffer, we are again trying to get the public and government’s attention to focus on the “inexplicable” (yeah right) rates of death still being recorded.
Life insurance data show a massive spike in excess deaths among younger, working-age people that began in 2021, even as COVID-19 deaths decreased, and continues today. So far, good explanations are elusive. A concerted, bipartisan investigation should explore this threat to America’s economic future and recommend a course of action.
A report by the nonprofit Society of Actuaries found that 34% more 35- to 44-year-olds died than expected in the last three months of 2022. More deaths occurred among white-collar vs. blue-collar workers. The organization also reported a sudden jump in employee deaths in the fall of 2021. Independent sites aggregating Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data confirm these trends. According to U.S. Mortality, excess deaths in September 2021 among 25- to 44-year-olds were 70% above normal. That number has thankfully dropped, but as of May 2023, the most recent month for which data are available, deaths in this age group remained 10% above expected. Among people under 25, it was 16% above normal.
The Society of Actuaries maintains that COVID-19 does not fully explain these deaths. So what does?
Experts have posited all sorts of theories, from rising obesity rates to extreme heat to lagging effects from lockdowns to wider alcohol abuse. These possible contributors deserve careful consideration. Given the sheer number of COVID-19 vaccine deaths reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, more than 36,000 to date, the possible role of vaccines should be examined, too.
Virtually everyone agrees that COVID-19 vaccines carry risk. The debate is over the frequency and intensity of harm. With the CDC recommending an updated vaccine for everyone 6 months of age and older, it’s time to reassess this delicate balance. If even a fraction of the deaths resulted from vaccination, we should want to understand the trend to help people accurately weigh the benefits and risks.