Around 6 to 8 million direct and indirect deaths caused by the Covid-19 pandemic
On the occasion of the publication of its annual report on world health statistics, the World Health Organization (WHO) indicated last Friday that the excess mortality caused by the pandemic is two to three times higher than the deaths officially attributed. to Covid-19 since the appearance of the first cases at the end of 2019 in China. In a tweet, the WHO explains that the “ The term excess mortality – or excess death – encompasses deaths beyond what was expected under ‘normal’ conditions. It takes into account not only confirmed deaths, but also Covid-19 deaths that have not been properly diagnosed and reported, as well as deaths attributable to general crisis conditions. “.
Thus, according to its calculations, the Covid-19 would have caused, last year, at least three million direct and indirect deaths, while the number of official deaths attributed to the virus amounted to around 1.8 million. . At a press conference, Dr Samira Asma, Assistant Director-General for Data at WHO said: “ This corresponds to similar estimates which all predict that the total number of deaths will be at least 2 to 3 times higher “than the official death toll from Covid. In addition, the pandemic has so far caused “about 6 to 8 million »Direct and indirect deaths.
How to explain this difference in figures?
Several factors may attempt to explain this difference. On the one hand, many countries have fallen behind in the notification of deaths on their territory. On the other hand, some deaths are not counted. This is the case of some people who died without having been screened beforehand as well as people who died from other diseases and who were not able to seek treatment (due to containment measures or by fear of going to health centers). According to Dr William Msemburi, Data Analyst at WHO, “ excess mortality gives us a better image, because it accounts for these direct and indirect effects “.
