# COVID took 15 million lives globally, not the 5 million reported – WHO
Author:  Pal Sinha, Barnali 
Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali
Published: 2022-05-05
Category: NEWS
Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/news
Meta Title: New WHO Report Exposes True COVID-19 Death Toll
Meta Description: Discover the shocking truth - COVID-19 has led to far more deaths worldwide than official figures suggest. Learn more about the WHO report now.
URL: https://financedigest.com/covid-took-15-million-lives-globally-not-the-5-million-reported-whohtml

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By Jennifer Rigby

(Reuters) -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.

There were 14.9 million excess deaths associated with COVID-19 by the end of 2021, the U.N. body said on Thursday.

The official count of [deaths directly attributable to COVID-19 and reported](https://www.financedigest.com/strong-nighttime-earthquake-jolts-sleeping-mexicans-at-least-one-death-reported.html "Strong nighttime earthquake jolts sleeping Mexicans, at least one death 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](https://www.financedigest.com/australia-steps-up-vaccine-push-to-stem-covid-19-outbreak.html "Australia steps up vaccine push to stem COVID-19 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](https://www.financedigest.com/smaller-lifetime-care-awards-means-accident-victims-need-to-take-more-investment-risk.html "Smaller Lifetime Care Awards Means Accident Victims Need To Take More Investment Risk") 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](https://www.financedigest.com/old-trafford-attracting-not-just-footballers-from-around-the-world-but-also-investors.html "Old Trafford attracting not just footballers from around the world, but also investors") were not registered, WHO said.

The WHO [report said that almost half](https://www.financedigest.com/global-economy-weathered-98bn-natural-hazard-loss-in-first-half-of-2016-according-to-aon-catastrophe-report.html "GLOBAL ECONOMY WEATHERED BN NATURAL HAZARD LOSS IN FIRST HALF OF 2016, ACCORDING TO AON CATASTROPHE REPORT") of the deaths that until now had not been counted were in India. The report suggests that 4.7 million [people died there as a result](https://www.financedigest.com/uk-pm-sunak-election-results-show-people-want-us-to-deliver-for-them.html "UK PM Sunak: Election results show people want us to deliver for them") of the pandemic, mainly during a huge surge in May and June 2021.

The Indian government, however, puts its death toll for the January 2020-December 2021 period far lower: about 480,000.

WHO said it had not yet fully examined new [data provided](https://www.financedigest.com/how-insurance-providers-are-starting-to-use-adas-data-to-price-cover.html "How insurance providers are starting to use ADAS data to price cover") this week by India, which has pushed back against the WHO estimates and issued its own mortality figures for all causes of death in 2020 on Tuesday. WHO said it may add a disclaimer to the [report highlighting](https://www.financedigest.com/board-report-highlights-complex-decision-making-process-across-banking-and-finance-sector.html "Board Report Highlights Complex Decision-Making Process Across Banking and Finance sector") the ongoing conversation with India.

In a statement issued after the numbers were published, the Indian government said WHO had released the report “without adequately addressing [India’s concerns” over what it called](https://www.financedigest.com/india-resists-calls-for-more-air-access-in-drive-to-be-global-aviation-force.html "India resists calls for more air access in drive to be global aviation force") “questionable” methods.

The WHO panel, made up of [international experts who have been working](https://www.financedigest.com/trust-the-foundation-of-international-remote-working-culture.html "Trust: The foundation of international remote working culture") on the data for months, used a combination of national and local information, as well as statistical models, to estimate totals where the data is incomplete – a methodology that India has criticised.

However, other independent assessments have also put the death toll in India far higher than the official government tally, including a report published in Science which suggested 3 million people may have died of [COVID in the country](https://www.financedigest.com/u-s-cdc-lifts-covid-do-not-travel-recommendations-on-about-90-countries.html "U.S. CDC lifts COVID ‘Do Not Travel’ recommendations on about 90 countries").

Other models have also reached similar conclusions about the global [death toll being far higher than the recorded](https://www.financedigest.com/china-records-worlds-first-human-death-from-h3n8-bird-flu-who.html "China records world’s first human death from H3N8 bird flu -WHO") statistics. For comparison, around 50 [million people](https://www.financedigest.com/the-start-up-using-technology-to-help-the-20-million-people-in-britain-with-money-worries.html "The start-up using technology to help the 20 million people in Britain with money worries") are thought to have died in the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, and 36 million have died of HIV since the epidemic began in the 1980s.

Samira Asma, WHO assistant director general for data, analytics and delivery for impact, who co-led the calculation process, said data was the “lifeblood of public health” needed to assess and [learn from what happened during the pandemic](https://www.financedigest.com/3-investing-lessons-you-can-learn-from-still-evolving-pandemic.html "3 Investing lessons you can learn from still-evolving pandemic").

She [called for more support for countries to improve](https://www.financedigest.com/german-regulator-calls-on-allianz-to-improve-controls-source.html "German regulator calls on Allianz to improve controls – source") reporting.

“Too much is unknown,” she told reporters in a press briefing.

SOURCE: https://bit.ly/38Tk83Q World Health Organisation, online May 5, 2022.

(Reporting by Jennifer Rigby; Additional reporting by Leroy Leo in Bengaluru; Editing by William Maclean and Hugh Lawson)


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