GREAT FALLS — The federal Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) released data on August 26th which emphasize that people with underlying medical conditions are at much greater risk of dying from COVID-19.
According to the CDC, an estimated 94% of all COVID-related deaths in the nation were among people who had underlying, contributing medical conditions and diseases.
The CDC report states: "For 6% of the deaths, COVID-19 was the only cause mentioned. For deaths with conditions or causes in addition to COVID-19, on average, there were 2.6 additional conditions or causes per death."
The CDC’s data looked at death certificates, which can lag behind raw death numbers from hospitals and states. While people can live with other health concerns, like heart disease, obesity, and respiratory issues, having underlying health conditions and then contracting COVID-19 can increase a person’s chances of becoming severely ill, or die.
The CDC data reports says that “on average, there were 2.6 additional conditions or causes per (COVID-19) death.” The most common comorbidities, or underlying medical conditions, in a COVID-19 death include:
- Influenza and pneumonia
- Respiratory failure
- Hypertensive disease
- Diabetes
- Vascular and unspecified dementia
- Cardiac arrest
- Heart failure
- Renal failure
- Intentional and unintentional injury, poisoning and other adverse events
The number of COVID-related deaths in the U.S. as of August 26, according to the CDC, was 161,392. Of those deaths, the age ranges are:
- 0-24 years: 330
- 25-34 years: 1,241
- 35-44 years: 3,228
- 45-54 years: 8,501
- 55-64 years: 20,295
- 65-74 years: 34,334
- 75-84 years: 42,587
- 85 and older: 50,867
Click here to read the complete report on the CDC website.
There were 82 new cases added to the total on the Montana Response COVID-19 tracking map on Monday morning. The data below is from the official Montana website on August 31:
- TOTAL CASES & RECOVERIES: Montana now reports 7,421 cumulative cases statewide, with 5,330 people recovered.
- HOSPITALIZATIONS: There are 134 patients hospitalized, and a total of 436 hospitalizations since the pandemic began.
- ACTIVE CASES: The state reports there are currently 1,987 active COVID-19 cases in Montana.
- DEATHS: The cumulative number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 in Montana is 104.
- TESTING: The number of tests increased by 3,577 over the previous 24-hour reporting period, for a new cumulative state-wide total of 250,238.
Numbers reported by the state each day occasionally differ from those reported by county public health departments due to periodic lag times in reporting data to the state. We encourage people to check the official website and/or Facebook page of their respective county health department for any updates that are not yet included in the state's daily updates.