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The number of people who have died worldwide as a result of Covid-19 is almost three times higher than that calculated so far, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on May 5. The agency reported that a total of 14.9 million people have died as a direct or indirect result of the virus. The number of deaths previously estimated by the WHO was 5.4 million.
The number of people killed by Covid-19 would be at least three times higher than that calculated so far.
The official estimate of deaths on the planet due to the virus increased from 5.4 million to 14.9 million for the period from January 2020 to December 2021, according to the new report from the World Health Organization (WHO). : the most complete look at the true global cost of the pandemic, published this Thursday, May 5. This is 9.5 million more deaths.
The reason for the notable increase? The WHO explains that The new report includes both those who died as a direct consequence of the virus and those who died from an indirect effect.. Among them, people with other conditions such as cancer who were unable to access medical care when hospitals were overwhelmed during the peaks of the pandemic.
“The deaths directly attributed to Covid-19 that were reported to the WHO, the deaths directly attributed to Covid-19 that were not counted or reported (…) The deaths indirectly associated with the pandemic due to the broader impact on health systems and society,” said Samira Asma, Assistant Director-General of WHO’s Division of Data, Analytics and Service Delivery for Impact.
Most of the victims were recorded in Southeast Asia, Europe and America. Although the numbers are based on country-reported data and statistical models, the WHO did not break out the numbers to distinguish between direct deaths from the coronavirus and others caused by the pandemic.
The organization’s director, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, described the magnitude of deaths as a “sobering” situation and said that it should encourage governments to invest more in their capacities to respond to future health emergencies.
The real number of deaths from Covid-19 would exceed 15 million
The WHO report aggregates global health data from January 2020 to December 2021, but the real figure could be even higher, since the organization states that its study does not include deaths from nations without adequate reports.
In addition, the UN body assured that before the pandemic was declared, around six out of 10 deaths worldwide were not registered.
For their part, scientists from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation of the University of Washington estimated more than 18 million deaths from the virus, also between January 2020 and December 2021, highlights a recent study published in the journal ‘Lancet ‘.
Meanwhile, a team led by Canadian researchers estimated that in India alone there were more than three million deaths from the same disease that went unaccounted for.
Questioning the WHO figures
The World Health Organization indicated that almost half of the deaths that until now had not been counted were in India. The report suggests that 4.7 million people lost their lives there as a result of the pandemic, mainly during a large surge in May and June 2021.
However, the Indian government estimates its death toll for the period January 2020 to December 2021 to be much lower: around 480,000.
India and other nations have questioned the WHO methodology for calculating deaths from Covid-19, among the criticisms is that the body includes collateral victims of other conditions that did not receive medical attention due to the health overflow.
However, other independent assessments have also put India’s death toll much higher than the official government tally, including a report published in the scientific journal Science suggesting three million people may have died of Covid-19. in the country.
The WHO argues that its metric offers a more complete picture of the extent of the pandemic and can be used to guide and implement public health policies.
“When we underestimate, we may not invest enough. And when we underestimate, we may fail to target interventions where they are most needed, and this also deepens inequalities,” added Asma, who co-led the calculation process.
Dr Bharat Pankhania, a public health specialist at the UK’s University of Exeter, stressed that we may never get close to the true death toll of the pandemic, particularly in poorer countries.
“When you have a massive outbreak where people are dying on the streets from lack of oxygen, bodies were left behind, or people had to be quickly cremated due to cultural beliefs, we end up never knowing how many people died,” he concluded.
Precise figures on deaths from the virus have been problematic or confusing during the pandemic and will continue to be so even after vaccination has overcome the largest outbreaks.
With Reuters and AP
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