[user104658]

Originally Posted by Oliver_W

I heard that Covid affects blood flow, so that'd obviously explain things like strokes happening more often. That said, I was told it by my uncle, who reads about a zillion conspiracy sites as well as legitimate news, so god knows where he read or heard it.

Occom's Razor cuts closer to what Cherie said - people are either scared of going to medical establishments and/or don't want to "waste their time" so let things slide.

I think there is some truth in Covid affecting the heart etc. but yeah the main reason there have been more deaths from other causes has been people being either unwilling or unable to access "normal" medical services. Older people seeing their GP less (or not at all) who might have picked up early warning signs of a problem (abnormal heartbeats, worryingly high/low blood pressure), people waiting just that little bit longer to go to A&E (even a few hours can make all the difference when it's heart or stroke) because they're either scared that the hospital is "full of Covid" OR worried that the staff are under heavy load already and they tell themselves they're "probably fine" and shouldn't take up more of their time, with things that they'd have had checked out under normal circumstances. By the time they think "OK yes I need to go to hospital" it can be too late.

It's small changes to behavior but amplify that by nearly 70 million people and there's going to be a measurable effect.