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Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Have monthly deaths from COVID-19 been consistently higher under Biden than under Trump?

By Jacob Alabab-Moser
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NO

Since March 2020, when Americans began dying from COVID-19 in significant numbers and the disease was declared a national emergency, monthly death rates have fluctuated widely, driven by vaccine availability, successive waves of infections, and other factors scientists are still seeking to understand.

Comparing the ten months in 2020 when the Trump administration was overseeing the pandemic with the same calendar months under the Biden administration in 2021, deaths averaged about 8,000 per month lower under Biden (see the table based on Centers for Disease Control data for detail). Deaths peaked in December 2020 and then declined rapidly during the first half of 2021 as Americans became increasingly vaccinated against COVID-19. Deaths spiked again in the second half of 2021 as the Delta variant spread.

To date, the pandemic has claimed more than 950,000 American lives, with 385,444 deaths occurring during 2020, 460,277 in 2021, and 100,871 in 2022.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Centers for Disease Control COVID-19 monthly deaths under Trump and Biden (Google sheet compiled by Gigafact)
Centers for Disease Control Deaths involving coronavirus disease
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.