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Covid-19 deaths under-reported globally: Report

Mumbai - And among the worst-hit and with a high level of under-reporting are the US and India, said the report.

Covid-19 has caused about 6.9 million deaths globally, more than double what official numbers show, said a new analysis by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

And among the worst-hit and with a high level of under-reporting are the US and India, said the report. According to IHME, while the US reported 574,043 Covid deaths between March 2020 and May 2021, the actual figures add up to 905,289. And in India, the reported figures are 221,181 (the ones up to May) and the actual ones according to IHME are 654,395.

“As terrible as the Covid-19 pandemic appears, this analysis shows that the actual toll is significantly worse,” said Dr. Chris Murray, IHME’s director. “Understanding the true number of Covid-19 deaths not only helps us appreciate the magnitude of this global crisis, but also provides valuable information to policymakers developing response and recovery plans.”

Many Covid-19 deaths go unreported because countries only report deaths that occur in hospitals or in patients with a confirmed infection. In many places, weak health reporting systems and low access to health care magnify this challenge, adds the report.

Admitting that many countries had devoted exceptional effort to measuring the pandemic’s toll, it points out that analysis showed the difficulties of accurately tracking a new and rapidly spreading infectious disease. “We hope that today’s report will encourage governments to identify and address gaps in their Covid-19 mortality reporting, so that they can more accurately direct pandemic resources.”