Illinois data: Deaths of people 18 to 49 soar in 2020-21; most of excess not COVID-related

Nearly 27% more people ages 18 to 49 in Illinois have died in each of the past two years than in each of the three years prior. COVID-related deaths in that age group account for just a minority of the excess deaths.

Data from the Illinois Department of Public Health show 29% more fatalities in 2021 and 24% more in 2020 when compared to the average for the three years prior for those ages 18 to 49. Combined for 2020 and 2021, the total number of deaths among that demographic is 21,511.

The total number of excess deaths, or the number of deaths above the prior three-year average, for 2020 and 2021 combined is 4,467. About 2,400 of that in 2021 is provisional data, IDPH said.

COVID-related deaths in the past two years total about 1,700 for that age group. Subtracting the 1,700 COVID deaths from the excess death total of 4,467 leaves 2,767 excess deaths for 2020 and 2021 that are not categorized by IDPH, meaning the causes of death for the excess 2,767 are not described.

Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski said the data show there are far greater risks to that age group than COVID-19.

"That would imply that there's a lot of deaths of despair," Dabrowski told The Center Square. "Opioid deaths, violence, etc., as a result of COVID [policies], because that's a very large increase."

While COVID-19 is listed as the third leading cause of death in Illinois for all ages in 2020, the leading cause of deaths IDPH lists for those 18 to 44 is accidents, assaults, suicides and heart disease. COVID-19 is not listed as a leading cause of death at all for ages 18 to 24. COVID-19 does show up at No. 6 for those 25 to 44, or 370 out of a total of 6,439.

Causes of deaths for all of 2021 were not yet available, with the exception of opioid overdose deaths, but that data is only available for the first three quarters of the year.

Wirepoints has compiled other data throughout the pandemic. Recent analysis shows COVID-19 deaths among those who are vaccinated make up 38% of the the total number of COVID deaths over the past four weeks. Dabrowski said anecdotally he's hearing the share of vaccinated patients in hospitals with COVID-19 is approaching 50-50.

"We know that the vaccine has some effectiveness against serious illness and death, that I think everyone still agrees to that, however, you can no longer say it's a pandemic of the unvaccinated," Dabrowski said.

With continued analysis of the data, Dabrowski said there must be a reevaluation of mask mandates in schools and vaccine requirements on the public to eat indoors in Chicago.

"Something like a vaccine, it should be done under the principle of informed consent," Dabrowksi said. "People should know exactly what they're getting, why they're getting it, what the data is, and in Illinois, Gov. [J.B.] Pritzker is not helping us. IDPH is not helping us. They're giving us partial data."

Dabrowski said there needs to be more information and fewer mandates.

"[COVID-19 restrictions are] an East Coast thing and a West Coast thing and then Illinois," Dabrowksi said. "So while other states are living more freely we continue to be under very severe and strict rules."