In December 2021, mortality from COVID-19, according to preliminary data from Rosstat, decreased by more than 66% compared to November and amounted to 54,630 people. In November, according to updated data from Rosstat, it amounted to 91,102 people.
Rosstat distinguishes four groups of deaths of people diagnosed with COVID-19. Coronavirus as the main cause of death was recorded in 44,390 people. Presumably COVID-19 as the main cause of death was identified in 4,732 people. Coronavirus was a concomitant disease, influenced the development of other diseases and contributed to the occurrence of complications that hastened death in 1,000 people. COVID-19 was a comorbidity but had no effect on death in 4,508 people.
According to Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, the death rate in December 2021 compared to the same period in 2020 decreased by 11.4%.
In 2021, 446,380 Russians recorded deaths from coronavirus as the main or presumably main cause of death, and in another 71,420 people, COVID-19 became a concomitant cause of death. Thus, the death rate of Russians infected with the coronavirus amounted to 517,800 people. This is 3.2 times higher than the year before last: in 2020, about 163,300 people died in Russia after being infected with the coronavirus.
The peak of mortality in 2021 was in November, follows from Rosstat data. Then 91,102 people died in a month. The previous peak was in October, with 74,893 deaths that month. High mortality in the autumn months was observed against the backdrop of the spread of the more dangerous Delta strain of coronavirus.
The population of Russia for 2021 as a whole decreased by 700,000 people and reached 145.5 million, follows from Rosstat data on the vital movement of the population, which was compiled on the basis of medical certificates from the registry office system. The total number of deaths in the country in 2021 amounted to 2.4 million people, which is 15% more than in 2020.
As Golikova explained, if we do not take into account deaths from coronavirus, then mortality in Russia decreased by 1.02% last year, TASS reports. “Excluding excess mortality from COVID-19, mortality in the Russian Federation decreased by 1.02% over the past year, including in the Central, North Caucasus, Volga, Urals federal districts,” Golikova said.