An estimated 18.2 million people globally died because of the COVID-19 pandemic by December 31 2021, which is about three times the official COVID-19 death records, according to a study by medical journal The Lancet. The highest numbers of excess deaths were estimated in India at 40.7 lakh (37.1–43.6 lakh), which is 22 per cent of the total deaths worldwide, according to the study.
The ratio between excess and reported COVID-19 deaths was the highest in the state of Bihar at 26.68 and the lowest in Goa at 0.96.
The study was done by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. It assessed the excess mortality figures of 12 Indian states.
The findings said that the full impact of the pandemic has been much greater than what is indicated by reported deaths due.
The research estimates indicate that the impact of the pandemic has been more devastating than the situation documented by official statistics. Official statistics on reported COVID-19 deaths provide only a partial picture of the true burden of mortality, the research found.
The number of excess deaths due to COVID-19 was largest in the regions of South Asia, North Africa and the Middle East, and Eastern Europe.
The research found that only 36 countries have released cause-of-death data for 2020 so far. The researchers used weekly or monthly data on deaths from all causes in the past two years and up to 11 prior years for 74 countries and 266 states and provinces.
The study suggests that strengthening death registration systems around the world are crucial to global public health strategy for improved monitoring of future pandemics. Moreover, further research is warranted to help distinguish the proportion of excess mortality that was directly caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection and the changes in causes of death as an indirect consequence of the pandemic, the report said.
