Nationwide, 200,700 more people have died than usual from March 15 to July 25, according to C.D.C. estimates, which adjust current death records to account for typical reporting lags. That number is 54,000 higher than the official count of coronavirus deaths for that period.
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Many epidemiologists believe measuring excess deaths is the best way to assess the impact of the virus in real time. It shows how the virus is altering normal patterns of mortality. The high numbers from the coronavirus pandemic period undermine arguments that the virus is merely killing vulnerable people who would have died anyway.