Covid pandemic killed 13 to 17 million in 2020-21: WHO

The Covid-19 pandemic killed 13.3 to 16.6 million people in 2020 and 2021, the WHO estimated Thursday -- up to triple the number of deaths attributed directly to the disease.   

The World Health Organization’s long-awaited estimate of the total number of deaths caused by the pandemic -- including lives lost to its knock-on effects -- finally puts a number on the broader impact of the crisis.   
 “New estimates from the World Health Organization show that the full death toll associated directly or indirectly with the Covid-19 pandemic between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021 was approximately 14.9 million (range 13.3 million to 16.6 million),” the UN health agency said in a statement.   

The figure calculates what is termed as ‘excess mortality due to the Covid-19 crisis’, which has upended much of the planet for more than two years.   

Samira Asma, the WHO’s assistant director-general for data, analytics and delivery said, “These new estimates use the best available data and have been produced using a robust methodology and a completely transparent approach.” The WHO said the 14.9-million figure was produced by leading world experts who developed a methodology to generate estimates where data is lacking.   

BBC quoting the WHO report said over 4.7 million people in India -nearly 10 times higher than official records suggest, are thought to have died because of Covid-19.   
 India’s government has rejected the figure, saying the methodology is flawed.
GENEVA AFP May5, 2022