New York, Aug 29 (IANS): A whopping 99 per cent of Covid deaths reported by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is not primarily caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, according to a media report.

In the week ending August 19, the CDC’s Covid dashboard recorded 324 coronavirus deaths.

Of this, the agency held just 1.7 per cent responsible for the Covid deaths.

Only in New York, which saw a 55 per cent increase in Covid cases at the beginning of August, 2.1 per cent of Covid deaths had the virus as the main cause, Daily Mail reported.

This is a staggering difference from the peak of the pandemic in 2021, when 30 per cent of Covid-related deaths had the virus cited as the main cause.

Since the peak of the pandemic, the number of weekly Covid-related deaths have dropped drastically, the report said.

The CDC has not reported the primary cause of death in cases where Covid was the secondary factor, but data from the agency shows cancer and heart disease continue to be the leading causes of death nationwide.

As per the CDC weekly data, Covid deaths are at their lowest numbers since March 2020.

However, cases have again started increasing owing to the new variant -- EG.5 -- which emerged as the dominant strain and accounted for 17 per cent of Covid cases in the country.

Meanwhile, the CDC is also tracking BA.2.86 variant, after it had been detected in Michigan, in addition to Israel and Denmark.

In the wake of new variants, NYC Health and Mental Hygiene Commissioner Ashwin Vasan and other public health experts are encouraging people to get the updated booster shot when it becomes available in late September.