The rate of “excess death” held steady for much of the COVID pandemic, despite vaccines, masks, and social distancing—but why? A new study on the topic is reigniting debate over pandemic measures and calling for a deeper investigation into COVID deaths, the Straits Times reports. Looking at data from 47 Western nations, researchers found more than 3 million reported “excess deaths”—that is, more than expected before the pandemic—between January 2020 and December 2022, with the annual number hovering just north of 1 million in the first two years and dipping to about 800,000 in the last. “This …