The COVID-19 pandemic and cause of death

David Armstrong, David Armstrong

Abstract

This article explores the emergence and development of Death Certificates as a means of establishing the cause of death for individuals and populations. The difficulty in choosing which disease caused death when several are described on the Certificate explains why the number of COVID-19-related deaths has been difficult to determine. This problem also draws attention to the dominant biomedical explanation for the cause of death that both promote and circumscribe what can be recognised as a valid cause.

Keywords: COVID-19; cause of death; death certificates; epidemics.

© 2021 The Author. Sociology of Health & Illness published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Foundation for SHIL (SHIL).

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Death Certificate endorsed by WHO

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