COVID’s true death toll: far higher than official records

Excess deaths due to pandemic are 3 times higher than official Covid toll, study finds In 2020 and 2021, 18 million more people died worldwide than would have otherwise been expected, new research shows. NBC News

The number of people worldwide who died because of the pandemic in its first two years may total more than 18 million, according to a sobering study released Thursday. That's three times more than the reported global death toll from Covid-19, which crossed 6 million earlier this week.

The research, published in the peer-reviewed journal The Lancet, analyzed data from 74 countries and 266 states and territories between Jan. 1, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2021. The scientists calculated excess deaths, a measure of how many more people died than would be expected had the pandemic not occurred. That means the estimate accounts both for people killed by Covid directly — confirmed and undiagnosed cases — as well as those whose deaths may be indirectly attributed to the pandemic.

Examples in the latter category include people with serious medical conditions who were unable to seek timely care because hospitals were overburdened, people who died by suicide, and those who died due to a lack of access to essential services.

 “The difference between excess mortality and reported COVID-19 deaths might be a function of underdiagnosis due to insufficient testing, reporting challenges, or higher than expected mortality from other diseases,” the study said. ...

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