Mortality in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 2020–2023: higher excess mortality during an influenza wave in 2022 than during all COVID-19 waves altogether

During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, significant excess mortality occurred in Frankfurt am Main only in the second wave at the end of 2020 before vaccination was introduced; in all other waves, no significant excess mortality was recorded. Overall, there was a non-significant negative excess mortality in Frankfurt am Main in 2020 and 2021 and a significant negative excess mortality in 2023. In 2022, however, a significant excess mortality was observed, which could not be attributed to SARS-CoV-2 but to a short, intense wave of influenza in the last 6 weeks at the end of that year, which had also led to a significant increase in mortality throughout Germany. This influenza wave was associated with an excess mortality rate in Frankfurt am Main, which was higher than in any wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Frankfurt am Main. The number of excess deaths during that influenza waves was larger than the excess deaths during all SARS-CoV-2 waves altogether. This remarkable fact should be taken into account when dealing with the evaluation of the pandemic, a process which is increasingly beeing called for in many ways in Germany but is still pending.