The Alaska Health Analytics & Vital Records Section announced the release of the 2020-2021 Excess Deaths Report. The report is now available on our Data and Statistics page here.
This special report provides a brief update on Alaska resident mortality in the context of “excess deaths” since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Excess deaths (defined as the difference between observed and expected deaths) provides insight into both the direct impact of COVID-19, as well as indirect effects from the disease’s impact on other forms of disease and injury. The 2021 death data reported here should be considered provisional and subject to change.
- In 2021, there were 6,194 Alaska resident deaths, 1,421 more deaths than expected based on model predictions.
- All sexes, and nearly all races, regions, and age groups experienced statistically significantly more deaths than expected in 2021.
- COVID-19 was the 3rd leading underlying cause of death in 2021 (742 deaths; up from 231 deaths in 2020).
- Heart disease, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, and unintentional injury (unintentional drug overdose in particular) deaths were all significantly higher than expected in 2021.
