A team of Greek doctors and researchers studying deaths that occurred in seven Athens hospitals between January and August 2022 determined the virus was directly responsible for only a quarter of the deaths.
Hospitals in Athens, Greece, incorrectly attributed hundreds of deaths to COVID-19, according to a peer-reviewed study published Monday in Scientific Reports.
A team of 19 Greek doctors and researchers studying 530 deaths that occurred in seven Athens hospitals between January and August 2022, found nearly half of the deaths attributed to COVID-19 were unrelated to the virus.
Researchers determined the virus was directly responsible for only a quarter — 133, or 25.1% — of the deaths.
In an additional 157 (29.6%) cases, COVID-19 “contributed to the chain of events leading to death” — for a total of 290 deaths “from” COVID-19.
Another 240 (45.3%) deaths occurred among people “with” COVID-19, but the deaths could not be directly attributed to the virus.