Covid has caused more deaths in Australia than cardiovascular disease and lung cancer so far this year, to be overtaken only by ischaemic heart diseases and dementia, the Actuaries Institute says.

Deaths from covid during January-July reached 7100, excluding those marked as dying “with” rather than “from” covid, the actuary’s research found. That compares with 5500 from stroke and 5400 from lung cancers.

The top two causes, ischaemic heart diseases and dementia, accounted for around 10,000 deaths each.

Including “with covid” classification, health departments reported 9550 covid deaths in the first seven months of this year, including 1934 in July – the highest monthly figure yet recorded.

Covid deaths in May-July were estimated at over 3500.

Excess mortality for the first four months of 2022 was 13%, or 6800 deaths, with more than half due to covid, the Institute says. Excess deaths are the deaths above what would have been expected without the pandemic.

Over the course of the pandemic, excess deaths from all causes have been 2% higher than expected, according to the Institute model.