NEW YORK – The death toll associated with directly and indirectly to Covid-19 is three times higher than the data shows, the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed in its latest report.
New estimates from WHO show that the full death toll between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2021 was approximately 14.9 million (range 13.3 million to 16.6 million), it said.
“Excess mortality includes deaths associated with COVID-19 directly (due to the disease) or indirectly (due to the pandemic’s impact on health systems and society),” WHO said.
Deaths linked indirectly to COVID-19 are attributable to other health conditions for which people were unable to access prevention and treatment because health systems were overburdened by the pandemic.
The estimated number of excess deaths can be influenced also by deaths averted during the pandemic due to lower risks of certain events, like motor-vehicle accidents or occupational injuries.
Most of the excess deaths (84%) are concentrated in South-East Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Some 68% of excess deaths are concentrated in just 10 countries globally
The WHO says many countries not reported the actual numbers Covid19 deaths.
The statistics shared by the global health organization show that there were 4.7 million Covid deaths in India, 10 times higher than the official data and almost a third of total Covid deaths across the globe.
The Indian government has, however, expressed concerns over the methodology adopted by WHO to measure the excess mortality.
WHO believes the death toll in Pakistan is eight times higher than the reported by the government.
“These sobering data not only point to the impact of the pandemic but also to the need for all countries to invest in more resilient health systems that can sustain essential health services during crises, including stronger health information systems,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “WHO is committed to working with all countries to strengthen their health information systems to generate better data for better decisions and better outcomes.”
“Measurement of excess mortality is an essential component to understand the impact of the pandemic. Shifts in mortality trends provide decision-makers information to guide policies to reduce mortality and effectively prevent future crises. Because of limited investments in data systems in many countries, the true extent of excess mortality often remains hidden,” said Dr Samira Asma, Assistant Director-General for Data, Analytics and Delivery at WHO. “These new estimates use the best available data and have been produced using a robust methodology and a completely transparent approach.”
