Prognosis

Virus Fatality Picture Is Obscured by the Ultimate Lagging Indicator

Deaths have recently held steady amid a spike in infections. That might not last for long.

Vice President Pence speaks during a White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., U.S., on June 26. — Vice President Pence speaks during a White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., U.S., on June 26.
Photographer: Erin Scott/Bloomberg

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By Robert Langreth, Emma Court, and Michelle Fay Cortez

June 26, 2020 at 9:49 PM UTC

Corrected

June 29, 2020 at 1:01 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

The Trump administration has highlighted an apparent disconnect between rising cases and declining mortality as proof the Covid-19 pandemic is under control.

“Fatalities are declining all across the country,” Vice President Mike Pence said at a coronavirus task-force briefing in Washington on Friday. He called the rise in new cases in people under 35 “very encouraging news,” saying they aren’t as likely to die from Covid-19.