Development of the Verbal Autopsy Instrument for COVID-19 (VAIC).

Background: Improving accuracy of identification of COVID-19-related deaths is essential to public health surveillance and research. The verbal autopsy, an established strategy involving an interview with a decedent's caregiver or witness using a semi-structured questionnaire, may improve accurate counting of COVID-19-related deaths.

Objective: To develop and pilot-test the Verbal Autopsy Instrument for COVID-19 (VAIC) and a death adjudication protocol using it.