The always reliable Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) has updated the rank of states by Covid-19 deaths per 100K in population. He’s also done us the great service of adjusting for age.
Why do we adjust for age? Because the median age of death for COVID is 80 years old. If compare the mortality rate of The Villages, FL (median age 68) to Mountain View, CA (24) that’s apples & oranges. That’s why we adjust for age. It’s like comparing the mortality rate of at West Point to a nursing home in Illinois.
So, quick chart. Note that the shade of the bar indicates the raw mortality rate. Florida has a darker bar with a large about of deaths but it ranks just a few marks up from California after this summer wave.
In truth, these numbers are not that wide off. If you calculated 350 vs. 200 deaths per 100K against a million people the difference is 1500 deaths.
Quick Chart: State Ranks! Age-adjusted COVID-19 Deaths
I'm curious what a graph like this looks like for all the major causes of death (e.g. heart disease, cancer)? My gut tells me it would be quite similar.
Can you do a quick explainer on how to adjust for age please?