World sees nearly 15M deaths 'directly or indirectly' related to COVID-19 in 2020-2021: WHO

By Peter Kenny

GENEVA (AA) - The total death toll "associated directly or indirectly with the COVID-19 pandemic" between Jan. 1, 2020 and Dec. 31, 2021, was around 14.9 million, according to a new study released by the World Health Organization on Thursday.

"These sobering data not only point to the impact of the pandemic but also to the need for all countries to invest in more resilient health systems that can sustain essential health services during crises, including stronger health information systems," WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus said.

"WHO is committed to working with all countries to strengthen their health information systems to generate better data for better decisions and better outcomes."

Excess mortality is calculated as the difference between the number of deaths and the number that would be expected in the absence of the pandemic based on data from earlier years.

It includes deaths associated with COVID-19 directly (due to the disease) or indirectly (due to the pandemic's impact on health systems and society).

Deaths linked indirectly to COVID-19 are attributable to other health conditions where people were unable to access prevention and treatment due to systems that were overburdened by the pandemic.

The estimated number of excess deaths can also be influenced by deaths averted during the pandemic due to lower risks of certain events, like motor-vehicle accidents or occupational injuries.

Most of the excess deaths (84%) are concentrated in South-East Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

Some 68% of excess deaths are concentrated in just 10 countries globally. Middle-income countries account for 81% of the 14.9 million excess deaths (53% in lower-middle-income countries and 28% in upper-middle-income countries) over the 24 months, with high-income and low-income countries each accounting for 15% and 4%, respectively.