Pa. tops 10,000 COVID-19 deaths — here are numbers that tell us more

Pennsylvania surpassed 10,000 COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday, when it reported 144 new deaths, bringing the total to 10,095. COVID-19 will likely rank as the third-leading cause of death in Pennsylvania in 2020. For comparison sake, flu and pneumonia killed 2,881 in 2018, the most recent year for official statistics.

Here are some insights into who has been affected, where the trend is headed, and how COVID-19 compares to other causes of death in Pennsylvania:

  • As of Tuesday, the majority of the deaths, 3,067, involved people between the ages of 80 and 89. Next came people 90-99, who accounted for 2,383 deaths.

They were followed by these age groups:

  • People in their 70s — 2,095 deaths
  • People in their 60s — 1,300 deaths
  • People in their 40s — 163 deaths
  • People older than 100 — 152 deaths
  • People in their 30s — 41 deaths
  • People in their 20s — 18 deaths

Pennsylvania’s publicly-available statistics list no deaths of anyone under 20. In general, COVID-19 deaths in young people have been rare, accounting for well under 1% of total deaths. According to national statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as of Nov. 24, there have been 49 deaths of children age 4 or younger; 92 among people aged 5-17; and 1,004 among people 18-29.

In Pennsylvania, the majority of people who died, 6,292, lived in nursing homes and personal care homes.

As of Tuesday, 4,965 of those who died were women and 4,724 are men. The state didn’t immediately update the demographic breakdown to reflect the 144 new deaths.

7,292 of the people who died are White, 1,780 are Black, 526 are Hispanic, 428 are listed as multiple races or other, and 189 are Asian.

Philadelphia County, had the most deaths, 1,989; followed by Montgomery County, with 924; Delaware County, with 789; Bucks County, with 660; Lancaster County, with 509; Allegheny County, with 480; Berks County, with 456; Chester County, with 390; Lehigh County with 380; and Northampton County, with 330.

Pennsylvania’s first COVID-19 death was reported on March 18. The state surpassed 5,000 on May 23. At the present pace, the death toll will surpass 20,000 on Feb. 22, 2021, according to a well-regarded model from the University of Washington.

Next came:

  • Cancer, which killed 27,995;
  • Non-vehicle accidents, which killed 7,202;
  • Cerebrovascular disease, which includes strokes and aneurysms, and which killed 6,588;
  • Chronic lower respiratory disease, which includes emphysema, chronic bronchitis and asthma, and which killed 6,430;
  • Drug overdoses, which killed 4,348 (2019, preliminary, Pennsylvania Department of Health);
  • Alzheimer’s disease, which killed 4,063;
  • Diabetes, which killed 3,605;
  • Kidney disease, which killed 2,919;
  • Flu and pneumonia, which killed 2,881;
  • Blood infection, which killed 2,392;
  • Suicide, which killed 2,017;
  • Firearm deaths, which claimed 1,636 (2017, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention);
  • Parkinson’s disease, which killed 1,613;
  • Motor vehicle accidents, which killed 1,282;
  • Homicide, which killed 785;
  • HIV disease, which killed 121;
  • Other transport-related accidents, which killed 66.

Sources: Pennsylvania Department of Health, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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