Nova Scotia releases COVID comorbidity stats

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The government of Nova Scotia has released statistics on comorbidities and ages of residents who died with or from COVID-19.

The information was released in response to a Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIPOP) request filed by an unnamed public interest group on June 10, 2021.

Here's what the source asked the province:

I would like to learn the comorbidity data that the people had who died 'with' or 'from' COVID-19 including ages, sex, etc. Any information or studies/data that has been gathered on those who have died of COVID-19 in NS.

On August 11, the province released the following information to the source before publishing their response online on August 27:

The report noted that “deaths captured in this dataset are those that meet the Public Health Agency of Canada case definition”:

Deceased case

• A probable or confirmed COVID-19 case whose death resulted from a clinically compatible illness, unless there is a clear alternative cause of death identified (e.g., trauma, poisoning, drug overdose).
• A Medical Officer of Health, relevant public health authority, or coroner may use their discretion when determining if a death was due to COVID-19, and their judgement will supersede the above-mentioned criteria.
• A death due to COVID-19 may be attributed when COVID-19 is the cause of death or is a contributing factor.

According to StatsCan, approximately 16.6 per cent of Nova Scotians are in the category of 65 and over.

Further, 33.3 per cent of adults under 65 and 44.2 per cent of adults 65 and over in the maritime province are classified as obese.