PRMC doctor explains circumstances when COVID-19 is listed as cause of death

SALISBURY, Md. – 47 ABC spoke with a doctor at Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury on Thursday to learn how the cause of death is certified when it comes to COVID-19.

A statement from the CDC website has been circulating as a post across social media. The information reads, “In cases where a definite diagnosis of COVID-19 cannot be made, but it is suspected or likely (e.g., the circumstances are compelling within a reasonable degree of certainty), it is acceptable to report COVID-19 on a death certificate as ‘probable’ or ‘presumed.'”

Some social media users have expressed concern that this is a way to inflate the number of coronavirus deaths. Dr. Chris Snyder at PRMC tells 47 ABC that’s not the case and this isn’t any different than how they handled things before COVID-19. “So again we try to identify the best or most likely probably cause of death. And in this case when we have a documented COVID with respiratory failure, that clearly is the cause of death.”

Dr. Chris Snyder says COVID-19 has the potential to trigger a variety of medical conditions that can lead to death. Therefore, it’s fair to say a COVID positive patient who died from pneumonia would likely not have died if they did not have COVID. Snyder says that’s why COVID-19 is listed as the cause of death.