According to the latest estimates of the World Health Organization, in the first two years of the COVID-19, the global death toll directly and indirectly caused by Xinguan may rise to nearly 15million, about one in every 500. The figures for 2020 and 2021 are much higher than the official figures. The Geneva based who said on Thursday that these include direct deaths caused by infection with novel coronavirus and indirect deaths caused by epidemic disturbance. The number of deaths reported by governments is about 6.2 million, more than double the latest who estimate.
"This alarming data not only shows the impact of the epidemic, but also shows that countries need to invest in building more resilient health systems so that necessary medical services can be provided continuously during the crisis," who director general Tan Desai said in a statement.
This figure is obtained by calculating the difference between all deaths and the expected deaths under normal circumstances. According to US media, more than a third of the additional 9 million deaths are estimated to have occurred in India, which objected to the new WHO data and delayed the release of the report. The government of Indian Prime Minister modi insisted on its official death figure of 523900.
The who estimate is also lower than that of the Institute of health indicators and evaluation at the University of Washington, which estimated in March that the epidemic killed 18.2 million people, calling it the biggest "death shock" since the Spanish pandemic. According to the CDC, the Spanish pandemic from 1918 to 1919 was estimated to have killed up to 50 million people.
According to the WHO report, 9.5 million deaths were estimated to be directly caused by novel coronavirus infection during the COVID-19. Ten countries, including Brazil, Egypt, India, the United States and Russia, accounted for 68% of the excessive deaths.
Some 70 countries do not record the cause of death of their populations.
The who said the death toll was most likely 14.9 million, but could be as low as 13.3 million or as high as 16.6 million. The report said that because the epidemic has overwhelmed the medical system, it has hindered the treatment of other diseases, resulting in many deaths. Men account for 57% of the total deaths, mostly over the age of 60.
The new crown has surpassed tuberculosis and become the world's largest "killer" of infectious diseases. According to the who, 1.5 million people will die from tuberculosis in 2020. The number of deaths caused by seasonal influenza is between 290000 and 650000 every year.