1st US COVID deaths came earlier, in different states than previously thought, according to report

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Monday, August 23, 2021
1st US COVID deaths came earlier than thought, according to report
COVID contributed to the deaths of people in six states, including California, in January 2020, weeks before what was considered the earliest U.S. coronavirus death, according data obtained by the Bay Area News Group.

COVID-19 related deaths may have been happening across the U.S. earlier than previously thought.

The Bay Area News Group reports a half-dozen death certificates from January 2020 were quietly changed to list COVID as a contributing factor in six states: California, Alabama, Georgia, Kansas, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.

The Bay Area News Group discovered evidence of the deaths in CDC data that has not been publicly released due to privacy concerns.

The findings suggest the virus quickly reached far beyond the country's first known hot spots.

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