The first documented death from COVID-19 in the United States occurred on January 9, 2020, in Leavenworth, Kansas, when 78-year-old Lovell “Cookie” Brown died. Her death certificate was initially attributed to stroke and chronic obstructive lung disease but was later amended in May 2021 to include “COVID-19 pneumonia” as a cause of death. This revision pushed back the timeline of the pandemic’s presence in the U.S. by several weeks, as the first known death had previously been believed to be on February 6, 2020, in Santa Clara County, California. At least four other deaths in January 2020 across different states have also been identified through amended death certificates, suggesting the virus was circulating earlier than initially recognized
