Excess mortality in children from 28 European countries.

A worrisome observation needing urgent investigation

The European monitoring of excess mortality for public health action (EuroMOMO) produces weekly bulletins of all-cause mortality and excess mortality (defined as a deviation in mortality from the expected level)  from 28 partner countries**.  

The Figure shows the cumulative excess mortality for all ages by week for the years 2020, 2021, and 2022. The grey line represents the cumulative excess mortality in 2020, the dark blue line in 2021, and the light blue line in 2022. We would expect a “normal” year to end with a cumulative sum of excess mortality around zero – this might fluctuate year on year, but we would not expect large deviations away from zero. Large deviations from zero would be cause for concern.

One graph in particular warrants closer inspection.