Full article taken from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid_weekly/index.htm

COVID-19 Provisional Counts

Updated: August 26, 2020alert icon

Note: Provisional death counts are based on death certificate data received and coded by the National Center for Health Statistics as of August 26, 2020. Death counts are delayed and may differ from other published sources (see Technical Notes). Counts will be updated every Wednesday by 5pm. Additional information will be added to this site as available.

List of Topics

1. Age and sex
2. Race and Hispanic origin by jurisdiction and by age
3. Place of death
4. Comorbidities
5. Excess deaths
6. State and county data files

For the Index of Provisional COVID-19 Mortality Surveillance and Ad-hoc Data Files, click here.

Age and sex

Table 1 has counts of death involving COVID-19 and select causes of death by sex and age group for the United States.  For data on sex and age at the state level,  Click here to download.  For data on sex and age by week,  Click here to download.

Data on deaths involving COVID-19 among ages 0–18 are available here:  Click here to download.

Table 1. Deaths involving coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), pneumonia, and influenza reported to NCHS by sex and age group. United States. Week ending 2/1/2020 to 8/22/2020

Updated August 26, 2020⁵Population is based on 2018 postcensal estimates from the U.S. Census Bureauhttps://app.powerbigov.us/view?r=eyJrIjoiMTIxNTM3N2QtNjZiNy00NGRhLWE3Y2QtNzBiMzc4YjBhZTg1IiwidCI6IjljZTcwODY5LTYwZGItNDRmZC1hYmU4LWQyNzY3MDc3ZmM4ZiJ9

Race and Hispanic origin

Data by race and Hispanic origin are available at the national, state, and county level. Data by race and Hispanic origin is also available by age at the national and state level. Click here to visit the NCHS Health Disparities: Race and Hispanic origin page.

Place of death

Table 2 presents death counts of COVID-19 and other select causes of death by the place of death. For data on place of death at the state level,  Click here to download.

Table 2. Deaths involving coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), pneumonia, and influenza reported to NCHS by place of death, United States. Week ending 2/1/2020 to 8/22/2020.*

Updated August 26, 2020³Counts of deaths involving influenza include deaths with pneumonia or COVID-19 also listed as a cause of death.

Comorbidities

Table 3 shows the types of health conditions and contributing causes mentioned in conjunction with deaths involving coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). For 6% of the deaths, COVID-19 was the only cause mentioned. For deaths with conditions or causes in addition to COVID-19, on average, there were 2.6 additional conditions or causes per death. The number of deaths with each condition or cause is shown for all deaths and by age groups. For data on comorbidities,  Click here to download.

Table 3. Conditions contributing to deaths involving coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), by age group, United States. Week ending 2/1/2020 to 8/22/2020.*

Updated August 26, 2020²Deaths with confirmed or presumed COVID-19, coded to ICD–10 code U07.1

Excess deaths

See the NCHS Excess Deaths Data Visualization.

This data visualization presents data on weekly counts of all-cause mortality by jurisdiction of occurrence. Counts of deaths in the most recent weeks are compared with historical trends to determine whether the number of deaths in recent weeks is significantly higher than expected.

State and County Data Files

Weekly Counts of Deaths by State and Select Causes

• Final data for 2014–2018  – Weekly counts of leading causes of death based on final underlying cause mortality data for years 2014–2018.
• Provisional data for 2019–2020  – Weekly counts of leading causes of death based on provisional underlying cause mortality data for 2019–2020, updated weekly.

Provisional COVID-19 Death Counts in the United States by County 

• This file includes deaths involving COVID-19 (coded to ICD–10 code U07.1) and total deaths per county. Counties included in this table had 10 or more COVID-19 deaths at the time of analysis.

Understanding the Numbers: Provisional Death Counts and COVID-19

Provisional death counts deliver the most complete and accurate picture of lives lost to COVID-19. They are based on death certificates, which are the most reliable source of data and contain information not available anywhere else, including comorbid conditions, race and ethnicity, and place of death.

How it Works

The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) uses incoming data from death certificates to produce provisional COVID-19 death counts. These include deaths occurring within the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

NCHS also provides summaries that examine deaths in specific categories and in greater geographic detail, such as deaths by county and by race and Hispanic origin.

COVID-19 deaths are identified using a new ICD–10 code. When COVID-19 is reported as a cause of death – or when it is listed as a “probable” or “presumed” cause — the death is coded as U07.1. This can include cases with or without laboratory confirmation.

Why These Numbers are Different

Provisional death counts may not match counts from other sources, such as media reports or numbers from county health departments. Counts by NCHS often track 1–2 weeks behind other data.

• Death certificates take time to be completed. There are many steps to filling out and submitting a death certificate. Waiting for test results can create additional delays.
• States report at different rates. Currently, 63% of all U.S. deaths are reported within 10 days of the date of death, but there is significant variation between states.
• It takes extra time to code COVID-19 deaths. While 80% of deaths are electronically processed and coded by NCHS within minutes, most deaths from COVID-19 must be coded by a person, which takes an average of 7 days.
• Other reporting systems use different definitions or methods for counting deaths.

Things to know about the data

Provisional counts are not final and are subject to change. Counts from previous weeks are continually revised as more records are received and processed.

Provisional data are not yet complete. Counts will not include all deaths that occurred during a given time period, especially for more recent periods. However, we can estimate how complete our numbers are by looking at the average number of deaths reported in previous years.

Death counts should not be compared across states. Some states report deaths on a daily basis, while other states report deaths weekly or monthly. State vital record reporting may also be affected or delayed by COVID-19 related response activities.

For more detailed technical information, visit the Provisional Death Counts for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Technical Notes page.