[rogerkirkness]

Many studies tend to find that the actual death rate hovers around 1.5x the official count. And like you say, there's significant confounding, so it would be hard to say. Further, it's clear that is can cause heart and lung problems that persist post infection. So the "true" number is somewhat uncountable, it would be the official count, times 1.5, minus relevant confounding (weighted).

An additional point to what you listed is that insurance companies get a "bonus" for a covid death, which as ridiculous as it sounds is intended to incentivize care during pandemics like this (for example of what this is intended to prevent, see spanish healthcare workers walking away from care homes).

[leahey]

The insurance bonus is actually intended to incentivize coverage, rather than care, and act as a stimulus to the insurance industry. I'm not endorsing that policy, just stating it as plainly as I can.