The Australian government should be urgently investigating the “incredibly high” 13% excess death rate in 2022, the country’s peak actuarial body says.
An extra 15,400 people died in the first eight months of the year, according to a new analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics (“ABS”) data by the Actuaries Institute, with around one-third of those having no link to Covid.
Karen Cutter, an actuary of more than 25 years and spokeswoman for the institute’s Covid-19 Mortality Working Group, said 13% was an “incredibly high number for mortality” and that it was “not clear” what was driving the increase. “Mortality doesn’t normally vary by more than 1% to 2%, so 13% is way higher than normal levels,” she said.
Read more: Excess deaths in 2022 ‘incredibly high’ at 13 per cent, News.com.au, 8 December 2022-- excerpt, rest at link above --
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."