Photo by cottonbro.pexels.
More timely access to death certificate data through a new electronic reporting system gives North Carolinians a more complete picture of COVID-19-related deaths, the Department of Health announced today. and North Carolina Human Services.
With the ability to electronically access death certificate data, NCDHHS identified an additional 1,146 deaths that occurred between January 1, 2022 and March 31, 2022, with COVID-19 listed as the cause on the death certificate and with a positive COVID-19 test. These deaths will be added to North Carolina’s COVID-19 dashboard on Wednesday, bringing the total death toll from the pandemic to more than 24,000. Data continues to show that North Carolina has the lowest per capita rates of COVID-19 deaths in the Southeast and ranks among the lowest in the nation.
Until now, deaths on the North Carolina COVID-19 dashboard have been reported through doctors or hospitals and through case investigations by local health departments. North Carolina’s Vital Events Database app began accepting death certificate data electronically on January 1, and is now available sooner and will link to data in the COVID-19 reporting system each month . Before NCDAVE, North Carolina was one of the last two states still relying on paper death certificates. The paper certificates were manually filed, unavailable for months, and therefore could not be linked to the COVID-19 reporting system.
“The electronic reporting system will help us identify deaths more systematically and better track the impact of COVID-19 over time,” said ClarLynda Williams-DeVane, Ph.D., director of the State Center of Health Statistics. “Beyond COVID-19, SCHS relies on death reports to track cause-of-death information and identify significant trends in public health.”
The primary purpose of NCDAVE is to enable individuals who provide information about the fact of death and the cause of death of the decedent (funeral homes, medical certifiers, including vendors and medical examiners) to file death records electronically with local registrars within the required requirements. notice period after death occurs. It also eliminates the need for physical handling and transfer of paper certificates. In addition, NCDAVE enables more timely state registration and certification of death records, reducing registration time from three to six months to five to 10 days.
Vaccines and boosters remain the best protection against death from COVID-19. They are also effective in reducing severe illness, hospitalizations, and prolonged COVID. More information about shots, boosters, and where to get one is available at myspot.nc.gov .
