Deaths in N.J. climbed an astounding 32% in a year. See how your county was affected. – NJ.com

New Jersey’s death toll from the coronavirus has left us searching for analogies throughout the past 12 harrowing months.

There’s those of war: Just a month into the outbreak, COVID-19 deaths exceeded the 704 New Jersey residents killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. By June, they surpassed those of the 12,565 New Jersey service members who died in World War II.

There’s those of the most feared chronic diseases: In October, the death count topped cancer’s usual toll, which claims 16,200 lives a year. As 2020 ended, coronavirus climbed above even heart disease’s typical impact, which accounts for 18,650 deaths annually.

Any way you look at it, deaths have leaped dramatically in the Garden State during the worst public health crisis in at least a century.

Consider this: In the year since March 2020, 97,800 New Jersey residents died regardless of cause, according to preliminary state mortality data as of Wednesday. In the five prior years, an average of 74,100 residents died over the same time period.

That’s 23,700 additional deaths — a staggering increase of 32%. And the gap is only expected to grow as more deaths are counted from January and February, given reporting delays.

Across New Jersey’s 21 counties, some hard-hit regions saw even more dramatic rises. Deaths in Hudson County were up by 59.6%, and Passaic, Union and Essex counties approached jumps of 50%.

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Every county saw mortality leap. Cape May had the smallest increase — 12.9% — followed by Burlington’s 16.6% and Hunterdon’s 20.1%.

Overall mortality is another way of charting the coronavirus’ impact, and for much of the pandemic, excess deaths outpaced the state’s official COVID-19 count, which approached 23,500 confirmed and probable coronavirus deaths on Wednesday.

Epidemiologists say excess deaths capture two phenomenons. On one hand, some COVID-19 death may be missed, considering not everyone is tested for the disease. On the other, the outbreak has carried indirect health consequences, for instance, those who died of treatable illness for which they did not obtain medical attention — the man who had a heart attack at home, rather than risk a trip to the hospital after suffering chest pains.

Increases in general mortality have tracked alongside the contagion’s two waves, following a now-familiar curve in which New Jersey was devastated in the spring, then saw cases surge again in the fall and winter. April marked the high point, when overall deaths increased 194% compared to 2015-2019.

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Vaccinations have been underway since December, with a goal of getting 70% of the state immunized within six months. On Monday, New Jersey announced that it is expanding eligibility in the coming weeks to include schoolteachers, child care workers and other front-line workers who are at risk of being exposed as part of their jobs.

Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said she expects that by May, the state will have a supply of vaccines that will cover “almost everyone.”

“I truly believe that,” Persichilli at a news briefing in which she urged residents to continue to take the precautions they’ve been asked to follow for months: social distancing, mask wearing and hand washing.

“We will … break the back of this virus,” Persichilli said. “It will take both of those things, not just vaccines.”

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Riley Yates may be reached at ryates@njadvancemedia.com.