At the end of 2021, there was no longer any increase in deaths for the first time in months. This is what it’s called when more people die than can be explained by the usual fluctuations in death rates. This development continued, resulting in a significantly lower death rate last week. An estimated 3,250 people died, more than 100 fewer than expected.

In the first week of this year, there was still an excess mortality rate if we look specifically at people aged 65-80 and younger age groups. In these people, too, the mortality rate returned to the normal level. This was already the case for a number of weeks among the over 80s.

“This appears to be the end of this wave of deaths: It’s a fact,” says CBS Sociologist Tanya Tragg. But it’s not hard to prove why yet. “It’s probably going to end because of the omicron,” Traag says. “But shutdowns and boosters are also going to play a role in that.”

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At the request of the Chamber of Deputies, Statistics Netherlands and RIVM are investigating the causes of the excess deaths. This will include data from doctors’ data on causes of death, as well as vaccination data. The institutes hope to publish the first results in February.

This kind of information will help explain why the death rate has been rising for several months since August. Slow suspects that the main causes will be the death of people from Covid-19 and the postponement of medical interventions in overcrowded hospitals.