The COVID-19 pandemic is responsible for the deaths of 13 to 17 million people by the end of 2021, more than the official death toll, according to a new WHO estimate released on Thursday.
These most promising figures provide a more realistic idea of the devastating effects – including the indirect effects – of the worst pandemic in a century and continue to kill thousands of lives each week.
New estimates from the World Health Organization show that the total number of deaths directly or indirectly related to the COVID-19 pandemic between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021 was approximately 14.9 million deaths (with range from 13.3 to 16.6 million)said the organization in a statement.
Since the pandemic began, figures from member countries compiled by the WHO have reached a total of 5.4 million deaths in the same period, but the WHO has long warned that these numbers underestimate the truth.
These disturbing data underscore not only the impact of the pandemic, but also the need for all countries to invest in more resilient health systems that can maintain vital health services during crises, including the integration of more powerful health information systems.said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Excess mortality is calculated by taking the difference between the actual number of deaths and the number of deaths estimated in the absence of a pandemic, based on current statistics.
The WHO released its high alert for COVID-19 on January 30, 2020 a few weeks after identifying the first cases in China in late 2019.
Excessive mortality includes both deaths directly caused by disease and those indirectly caused by the impact of the pandemic on health systems and society in general.
Indirect causes of death associated with COVID may be due to overloaded health structures and forced, for example, to delay surgical procedures or chemotherapy sessions for cancer patients.
The WHO says most excessive deaths (84%) are concentrated in Southeast Asia, Europe and the Americas.
Only about 10 countries account for 68% of the total mortality rate.
High -income countries accounted for 15% of excessive mortality compared to 28% for high -income countries and 53% for lower -income countries. For low -income countries, they reach 4%.
The global mortality rate is higher in men than in women – 57% in men, 43% in women – and higher in older people.
Measuring excess mortality is an important part to understanding the impact of a pandemicexplained Samira Asma, who manages the file at WHO.
More reliable information allows decision makers to better prepare the ground to limit the impact of future crises.
These new estimates are based on the best available data produced using an efficient methodology and a fully transparent approach.he explained.
The subject is highly sensitive because of the political implications of these numbers, which are associated with the quality of crisis management by the authorities.
The WHO said it relies on a group of recognized experts in their field to develop a methodology to extrapolate to cases where data is insufficient or incomplete.
Many countries in the world have no way to collect reliable mortality data and therefore cannot rely on the lessons to be learned from the analysis of excessive mortality data.
The methodology developed by WHO experts should make it possible to avoid the obstacle.
Source: Radio-Canada
