I'd go

with,

 they are,

not, 

could be.

Analysis: U.S. Deaths From COVID-19 Could Be Significantly Higher Than Reported

"Another recent study was conducted by the Yale School of Public Health for the Washington Post and it recorded an estimated 15,400 excess deaths in the United States from March through April 04, twice as many as were publicly attributed to the coronavirus during that timeframe"

It's not the damn flu.

Shut up already.