The complete death toll directly or indirectly associated with the Covid-19 pandemic (understood as mortality in excess of normal trends) between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2021 was approximately 14.9 million, the mid-point of a range between 13.3 million and 16.6 million.
These are the new estimates published by the World Health Organization, estimates therefore much higher than the 5.4 million officially registered deaths. “These sobering data not only point to the impact of the pandemic, but also the need for all countries to invest in more resilient health systems that can support essential health services during crises, including stronger health information systems.” declared the director general of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus – WHO is committed to working with all countries to strengthen their health information systems to generate better data for better decisions and better results “.
The excess deaths – explains the WHO report – include deaths directly associated with covid or indirectly due to the impact of the pandemic on health systems and society. Deaths indirectly linked to COVID-19 are attributable to other health conditions for which people have been unable to access prevention and treatment because health systems have been overloaded by the pandemic. According to WHO statistics, most of the excess deaths (84%) are concentrated in Southeast Asia, Europe and the Americas. The balance also reveals a greater impact for men (57%) than women (43%) and a higher incidence rate among the elderly.
