by Alex Blair, News Australia:
A new study released this week has shown Australia is experiencing its highest excess mortality rates in over 80 years.
According to the Actuaries Institute, there was a 12 per cent increase in excess deaths in 2022. Of the additional 20,000 deaths, 10,300 were attributed to Covid-19 — with another 2,900 deaths where the virus was a contributing factor,
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The remaining 6,600 excess deaths were not related to Covid-19, with ischaemic heart disease and cancer being the most common causes, leading to 2,020 and 970 excess deaths respectively.
Karen Cutter, the spokesperson for the Institute’s Covid-19 mortality working group, emphasised that the increase of 20,000 deaths is extraordinary and has not been witnessed since World War II.
After remaining stable for some time, the number of deaths began to climb, and in 2021, the nation surpassed its expected death rate by 2 per cent. In the second year of the pandemic, there were 3,000 excess deaths, with about 1,400 directly attributed to Covid-19 and 1,600 linked to it.
However, there was a significant shift in 2022 when the excess death rate surged to 12 per cent. Deaths reached their highest point in late July before declining but then began to rise again in November and December.
“It is not within normal levels of fluctuation in non-pandemic times,” Ms Cutter said.
Cumulative number of deaths from all causes compared to projection based on previous years, per million people. Source: OurWorldInData
“Covid-19 accounts for about half of this excess, and we are also seeing a significant amount of excess mortality that is not recorded as due to Covid-19 on death certificates.”
The excess deaths increased by 10 to 15 per cent in all states and territories, except for the Northern Territory, while the spike in Western Australia was “delayed due to the state opening its borders in March”.
All age groups experienced excess deaths, with a notable rise among females under 44, but the number and rate were highest among people over 65 years of age.
Additionally, a report released in January showed a shocking 17 per cent increase in Australians dying from a heart attack, compared to a regular year.
Ms Cutter said the Institute believes that the virus still played a role in many of the excess deaths that weren’t directly attributed to Covid.
“Firstly, mortality risk is higher subsequent to an acute Covid infection, and most Australians have now had Covid-19,” she said.
