Notification from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
LAC DPH Health Information:
Certifying Deaths Due to COVID-19
July 3, 2023
This message is intended for all physicians that may be asked to certify the cause of death.
Please distribute as appropriate.
Key Messages
Death certificates are now the primary means of tracking COVID-19 deaths in Los Angeles County. This is in alignment with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
If COVID-19 played a role in the death, it is important that the medical certifier reports it on the death certificate.
Situation
In using death certificates as the primary means of tracking COVID-19 deaths, it is important that when COVID-19 contributed to a death that it be reported on the death certificate. This will allow public health agencies at the local, state, and federal levels to accurately assess COVID-19 trends and appropriately direct public health response.
The CDC guidance on certifying deaths due to COVID-19 instructs medical certifiers to include COVID-19 if it was an underlying cause of death or if it was a significant condition that contributed to the death. When a definitive diagnosis cannot be made but it is suspected that COVID-19 played a role in the death, it is acceptable to report COVID-19 on a death certificate as “probable” or “presumed”. In addition, the CDC instructs certifiers to include “post-acute sequelae of COVID-19” on the death certificate if the death may have been due to long-term complications of COVID-19, even if the original infection occurred months or years before death.
This communication was sent by Dr. Sharon Balter, Director, Division of Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
To view a printable PDF of this communication and other LAHAN communications, please visit ph.lacounty.gov/lahan.
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