COVID led to 15 million deaths globally, not the 5 million reported: WHO
(VOVWORLD) - Almost three times as many people have died as a result of COVID-19 as official data show, according to a new World Health Organization (WHO) report, the most comprehensive look at the true global toll of the pandemic so far.
 The World Health Organization logo is pictured at the entrance of the WHO building, in Geneva, Switzerland, December 20, 2021. (Photo: REUTERS) |
There were 15 million excess deaths associated with COVID-19 by the end of 2021, the UN body said on Thursday.
The official count of deaths directly attributable to COVID-19 and reported to WHO in that period, from January 2020 to the end of December 2021, is slightly more than 5.4 million.
The WHO's excess mortality figures reflect people who died of COVID-19 as well as those who died as an indirect result of the outbreak, including people who could not access healthcare for other conditions when systems were overwhelmed during huge waves of infection.
It also accounts for deaths averted during the pandemic, for example because of the lower risk of traffic accidents during lockdowns.
But the numbers are also far higher than the official tally because of deaths that were missed in countries without adequate reporting.
Even pre-pandemic, around six in 10 deaths around the world were not registered, WHO said.