https://www.aier.org/article/covid-misclassification-what-do-the-data-suggest/
According to Worldometer, U.S. deaths from Covid-19 were 272,254 as of 11/29/2020. What are “deaths from Covid-19?” One definition would be deaths where Covid-19 was the primary cause. An example would be a patient who has a positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for the virus responsible for Covid-19 and a clinical picture of hypoxemia, bilateral pulmonary infiltrates on imaging, no obvious other cause, such as influenza or congestive heart failure (CHF), and who dies from progressive acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).
Another definition would be deaths where Covid-19 was a contributing cause but not necessarily the primary disease. An example would be a patient with diabetes or end-stage renal disease who develops an upper respiratory infection URI, has a positive PCR test, never recovers from the URI, deteriorates over many weeks to months and eventually dies.
In this case the underlying cause of death was the diabetes or end-stage renal disease weakening the host defenses and the Covid-19 was the precipitating cause of acute illness and eventual death. Another definition would be a patient who dies, has a positive PCR test, but the Covid-19 clearly had nothing to do with the death. An example would be a trauma victim who had no respiratory symptoms prior to trauma and coincidentally has a positive PCR test.