Drug Overdose, Suicide, & Other Accident "Covid-Related" Deaths in Cook County

Yes, they're a thing

Yesterday, Sarah Beth Burwick posted a thread about the fentanyl overdose death of a teen in Los Angeles County that’s listed in the CDC WONDER multiple-cause database as covid-related.

Sarah Beth Burwick @sarahbeth345

THREAD I have located details about this 17 year old male, whose fentanyl overdose was counted by the CDC as a "COVID-related" death. His autopsy report does not mention SARS-CoV-2 and there is no clinical indication he had the virus or any sequelae from prior infection.

Sarah Beth Burwick @sarahbeth345

A.M., hispanic male, age 17. Per County Medical Examiner, he died from "effects of fentanyl" and had dilated cardiomyopathy and a history of c19 positive. CDC Wonder describes multiple causes of death including "accidental poisoning by and exposure to narcotics[.]" 9/ https://t.co/ONRxkAIbWS

It’s one of seven teenage covid deaths in the county that doesn’t make sense, Sarah says, wondering, “How many are there like this nationwide?'“

I’m not sure about nationwide, but I can speak to Cook County, Illinois.

The medical examiner’s Covid-19 Related Deaths archive shows 40 drug- and alcohol accident deaths and two suicides that list the virus as contributing cause. Most are males under age 65.

All told, there are 219 covid-related deaths classified as “accident”. Besides overdoses and poisonings, these include falls, head injuries, and exposure to cold temperatures.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office assumed jurisdiction over all hospital, nursing home, and hospital covid deaths in March 2020, but as of April 1, 2022, no longer assumes such authority over potential virus-related deaths unless another factor that falls within its jurisdiction is involved.

CCME including such deaths in the virus toll isn’t new news. A May 2020 WBEZ article described how CCME staff were handling the influx of bodies resulting from the pandemic directive which expanded their caseload. Processing covid deaths mostly involved reviewing hospital records - not conducting autopsies. One man’s fall death and another man’s death from injuries sustained in a barroom brawl were both determined to be covid-related, the article reported.

9/28/22 Update: The most honest entry above is this one.