A coroner in Macon County, Missouri has removed COVID-19 from death certificates in a move that has contributed to a lower number of reported coronavirus-related fatalities in the region.
Coroner Brian Hayes said he has excluded the virus from some certificates at the request of upset family members. Hayes told the Kansas City Star that COVID is a personal tragedy for some families and they don’t want the virus on any official record for their dead loved one.
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"A lot of families were upset. They didn’t want COVID on the death certificates," Hayes said. "I won’t lie for them, it's gotta be true, but I do what pleases the family."
Hayes said COVID was removed from those certificates where another major factor could be justified as the sole cause of death, such as pneumonia or long-term smoking.
The decision has sparked a conversation about medical ethics. Mike Chambers, administrator of the Macon County Health Department, told the Star that while he doesn't agree with Hayes' decision, he admitted that he can "see both sides."
"There are viruses out there that are so similar to COVID, like the flu, and unless you do a test to confirm, you just don’t know," Chambers explained.
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Omitting COVID-19 from death certificates has changed Macon County's official coronavirus death toll from upwards of 30 down to 19, according to the newspaper. It's also had an effect on Missouri's statewide death toll.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that COVID-19 should only be listed as a cause of death if the person would have lived longer without contracting the virus.
According to the state health department, Missouri has recorded more than 9,700 deaths due to the coronavirus.
Missouri is in the top 15 states with the lowest vaccination rate. As of Wednesday, 48.6% of the state's eligible population has received one dose of the vaccine, while 41.6% are fully vaccinated.
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