Death definition for COVID-19 to change

On May 15, the COVID-19 death definition will be updated for all deaths reported to date in 2023. On May 17, the COVID-19 Data Dashboard will be updated to reflect these changes. Deaths prior to January 1, 2023 will not be affected. 

This change will more accurately count deaths that are attributable to COVID-19 by removing the requirement of the individual to have a positive COVID-19 test reported to DOH. Here are key points to be aware of and share with your partners.

• DOH is adopting national guidance (PDF) from the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists issued on November 2022, which recommends counting COVID-19 deaths based solely on death certificate data. This change affects COVID-19 death reporting from January 1, 2023 and onward. 
• The new definition means that DOH counts a person as a COVID-19 death based only on the death certificate data. An accompanying positive SARS-CoV-2 test result is no longer needed. 
• Implementing the definition change results in an approximately 26% reduction in the count of COVID-19 deaths across the state. We removed deaths where COVID-19 was not clearly mentioned on the death certificate, and we added deaths where the individual did not have a linked SARS-CoV-2 test.
• The shift to only using death certificates makes counting COVID-19 deaths more accurate due to more at-home testing, changes in health care seeking behavior, changes in testing practices, and a decrease in the number of tests reported to DOH. This change also aligns DOH with how other states report COVID-19 deaths.

If you have questions about COVID-19 death reporting on the DOH COVID-19 Dashboard, please contact DOH-CDS-Surveillance@doh.wa.gov.

Related article: DOH to end reporting negative COVID-19 lab tests