Closed but Not Protected: Excess Deaths Among the Amish and Mennonites During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Rachel E Stein; Katie E Corcoran; Corey J Colyer; Annette M Mackay; Sara K Guthrie

doi:10.1007/s10943-021-01307-5

Closed but Not Protected: Excess Deaths Among the Amish and Mennonites During the COVID-19 Pandemic

J Relig Health. 2021 Oct;60(5):3230-3244. doi: 10.1007/s10943-021-01307-5. Epub 2021 Jun 11.

Authors

Rachel E Stein¹, Katie E Corcoran², Corey J Colyer², Annette M Mackay², Sara K Guthrie²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Sociology and Anthropology, West Virginia University, PO Box 6326, Morgantown, WV, 26506-6326, USA. rachel.stein@mail.wvu.edu.
² Department of Sociology and Anthropology, West Virginia University, PO Box 6326, Morgantown, WV, 26506-6326, USA.

Abstract

"Excess deaths" is a means to estimate the lethality of COVID-19 (directly and indirectly). Assessing "excess death" in closed religious communities provides information on how COVID-19 impacted these communities. We use obituary information published in an Amish/Mennonite newspaper to examine excess death among the Amish/Mennonites in 2020. Our results indicate the Amish/Mennonite excess death rates are similar to the national trends in the USA. The excess death rate for Amish/Mennonites spiked with a 125% increase in November 2020. The impact of COVID-19 on this closed religious community highlights the need to consider religion to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Keywords: Amish; COVID-19; Closed religious groups; Excess death.

MeSH terms

Amish
COVID-19*
Humans
Pandemics*
Religion
SARS-CoV-2

Abstract

MeSH terms

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