The study compared the proportion of inpatient decedents aged over 65 with pre-existing diabetes for COVID-19 (National COVID Cohort Collaborative electronic health records) and for influenza (Medicare claims). Diabetes was present in 46.6% (95% CI 46.1-47.0) of COVID-19 decedents and, age-standardised, 63.1% (95% CI 59.1-67.1) of influenza decedents. The high comorbidity share reported early in the pandemic was therefore not specific to COVID-19.
Why it is interesting: Puts a widely repeated pandemic statistic against a comparator, showing comorbidity shares among decedents say more about who dies of respiratory infection at all than about any one pathogen.