Updated COVID-19 mortality data from the Tennessee Department of Health reveals that September 2021 – the height of the delta surge that affected on average younger and predominantly unvaccinated residents – was the deadliest month of the pandemic for Hamilton County so far.
Though the coronavirus still claimed more residents’ lives in the four months from November 2020 to February 2021, with 358 deaths occurring during that time frame, 315 Hamilton County residents died during the four months from August through November 2021, when the delta variant drove record-high hospitalizations across the region.
In September 2021, 141 Hamilton County residents were killed by the virus, according to the updated data. December 2020 is now the second-deadliest month on record, with 111 fatalities, followed by January 2021 with 108 deaths.
The updated mortality data that came in the final weeks of 2021 and into the new year were a result of a year-end audit conducted by the Tennessee Department of Health that shored up reporting inconsistencies and backlogs, according to Health Commissioner Dr. Lisa Piercey.