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.
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.
