Most of the people who died from COVID-19 in Canada were over the age of 85 and had dementia, Alzheimer’s, chronic heart disease and other pre-existing “cardiovascular and respiratory conditions,” according to a shocking new report from the federal government.
Nine in ten deaths had a secondary cause listed on the death certificate.
The Statistics Canada report, released July 6, found that 94% of all Canadians who died of COVID-19 in 2020 were seniors older than 65. Of those, more than half were over 85 years of age, and the majority were residents of long-term care homes.
This led the report to conclude that those who died from COVID-19 “may have been at a high risk of dying over this period regardless of the pandemic.”
COVID-19 was not the only cause of death.
“Of the 15,300 people who died of COVID-19 between March and December 2020, nearly 9 in 10 had at least one other health condition or complication or another cause listed on the death certificate. Dementia or Alzheimer’s was listed on the death certificate of 36% of COVID-19 death certificates and was particularly common among those age 65 or older.”
The report, entitled Briefing on the Impact of COVID-19 on Seniors, was prepared by researchers at Statistics Canada and was presented to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources and Skill Development. It was first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.
The report looked at both COVID-19 deaths and as well as excess deaths that occurred in 2020.
Excess deaths are described as the increase in the number of overall deaths in Canada relative to data from past years.
These deaths are the result of both the disease itself as well as the second and third order impacts of the lockdowns, including things like cancelled surgeries, undiagnosed diseases and diseases of despair such as suicide, drug overdoses, alcohol poisoning and so on.
While 94% of COVID-19 deaths were seniors, only 70% of all excess deaths were among those over 65. That means that 30% of excess deaths were among working-aged adults 64 years and younger versus 6% of only COVID-19 deaths.
This report focuses primarily on seniors, so no analysis or further details were provided to explain this large discrepancy. The report does, however, suggest that the lockdown and resulting difficulties for working-aged Canadians were significantly worse than the disease itself.
For instance, the report shows that seniors 65 and older were the least likely age category to report having difficulties with their financial situation, with fewer than 15% saying the pandemic had a moderate or major impact.
Compare this to upwards of 30% for Canadians aged 35 to 44, and nearly 30% for those aged 25-34.
Similarly, older Canadians were the most likely to report being in very good or excellent mental health, with nearly 70% reporting positive mental health. Compare this with the category of Canadians aged 18 to 34 years old, where more than 50% reported negative mental health.
A recent report from the Sick Kids hospital found that a staggering 70% of teenagers reported symptoms of depression as a result of the pandemic and lockdowns.
While many provinces are starting to reopen, Canadians have been victims to some of the strictest public health orders in the world, rivaling communist countries like China and Cuba.
The True North Provincial Freedom Score found that Nova Scotia, Manitoba and Ontario were the most locked-down provinces in the country when taking into account business closures, school openings, in-person dining and nearly a dozen other variables.
