The Uncounted Lab

The Uncounted Lab strives to inform the public and policymakers about unrecognized mortality impacts of pandemics, chronic diseases, and public health emergencies for which officially reported statistics are suspected to be incomplete or delayed. The lab seeks to document hidden death tolls using innovative methods and novel data sources and to advance health policies that center population health and health equity through peer-reviewed research, public data dashboards, and advocacy collaborations with investigative journalists and community-based organizations.

The lab’s impact is made possible through collaboration between researchers at Boston University School of Public Health and investigators at multiple other institutions and through support from the Boston University Center on Emerging Infectious Diseases (CEID), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the National Institute on Aging, and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. Learn more about the team.

Recent Peer-Reviewed Publications

• Excess natural-cause mortality in US counties and its association with reported COVID-19 deaths. PNAS, February 2024. Paglino, E., Lundberg, D.J., Wrigley-Field, E., Zhou, Z., Wasserman, J.A., Raquib, R., Chen, Y.-H., Hempstead, K., Preston, S.H., Elo, I.T., Glymour, M.M., Stokes, A.C.
• Excess Mortality with Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias as an Underlying or Contributing Cause During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the US. JAMA Neurology, July 2023. Chen, R., Charpignon, M.L., Raquib, R.V., Wang, J., Meza, E., Aschmann HE, DeVost, M.A., Mooney, A., Bibbins-Domingo, K., Riley, A.R., Kiang, M.V., Chen, Y.H., Stokes, A.C., Glymour, M.M.
• Monthly excess mortality across counties in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic, March 2020 to February 2022. Science Advances, June 2023. Paglino, E., Lundberg, D.J., Zhou, Z., Wasserman, J.A., Raquib, R., Luck, A.N., Hempstead, K., Bor, J., Preston, S.H., Elo, I.T., Stokes, A.C.
• Missing Americans: Early death in the United States-1933-2021. PNAS Nexus, June 2023. Bor, J., Stokes, A.C., Raifman, J., Venkataramani, A., Bassett, M.T., Himmelstein, D., Woolhandler, S.
• COVID-19 Mortality by Race and Ethnicity in US Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Areas, March 2020 to February 2022. JAMA Network Open, May 2023. Lundberg, D.J., Wrigley-Field, E., Cho, A., Raquib, R., Nsoesie, E.O., Paglino, E., Chen, R., Kiang, M.V., Riley, A.R., Chen, Y.H., Charpignon, M.L., Hempstead, K, Preston, S.H., Elo, I.T., Glymour, M.M., Stokes, A.C.

View other peer-reviewed publications from the lab.

Recent Media Coverage

• Covid death toll in US likely 16% higher than official tally, study says. The Guardian, February 21, 2024. Research Coverage: Schreiber, M.
• U study: Most ‘excess deaths’ during pandemic were COVID. Star Tribune, February 15, 2024. Research Coverage: Olson, J.
• COVID-19 deaths in the US continue to be undercounted, research shows, despite claims of ‘overcounts’. The Conversation, January 25, 2023. Analysis Piece: Stokes, A.C., Lundberg, D.J., Wrigley-Field, E., Chen, Y.-H.
• The uncounted: People of color are dying at much higher rates than what COVID data suggests. USA Today, December 28, 2022. Investigative Journalism Collaboration with MuckRock and Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting: Ladyzhets, B., Montanari, S., Monahan, R.
• Low vaccine booster rates are now a key factor in Covid-19 deaths – and racial disparities in booster rates persist. The Conservation, August 30, 2022. Analysis Piece: Stokes, A.C., Lundberg, D.J., Wrigley-Field, E., Raquib, R.
• ‘Hidden’ COVID fatalities show US death investigations need reform. The Hill, July 25, 2022. Opinion Piece: Stokes, A.C., Lundberg, D.J., Wrigley-Field, E.

View other media coverage of the lab’s research.

Contact the Lab

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