Russia posts new virus death toll
Second tally over 2 times higher than first reported count
MOSCOW — Russia issued updated statistics Monday on coronavirus-linked deaths which showed that 162,429 people with covid-19 died last year, a number far higher than previously reported by government officials.
The state statistics agency, Rosstat, released its figures for December on Monday, updating its count of coronavirus-linked deaths that includes cases where the virus wasn’t the main cause of death and where the virus was suspected but not confirmed.
Out of more than 162,000 deaths between April and December, 86,498 were directly caused by confirmed covid-19; 17,470 other deaths were likely caused by the virus, but it wasn’t confirmed by a test. In 13,524 cases, the virus “significantly” contributed to fatal complications of other diseases, and 44,937 people tested positive for the virus but died of other causes.
Rosstat’s count is much higher than the tally reported by the Russian government’s coronavirus task force, which is reflected in the numbers released by the World Health Organization. By Jan. 1, the task force reported a total 57,555 deaths.
As of Monday, the number stood at 77,068.
Rosstat’s count is much higher than the 77,068 deaths that the Russian government’s coronavirus task force has reported so far, including deaths that occurred in January and February. Russian officials ascribe the differences between the numbers reported by the task force and Rosstat to different counting methods, saying the task force only includes deaths where covid-19 was the main cause.
Officials also said the task force uses data from medical facilities while Rosstat takes its numbers from civil registry offices where registering a death is finalized.
December accounted for the highest number of Russian deaths since April — 44,435, according to Rosstat. That’s when new coronavirus infections in Russia soared and officials regularly reported over 27,000 daily new cases.
The agency’s data also showed that the number of deaths from all causes in 2020 grew by 323,800, or nearly 18%, compared with 2019.
Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said 31% of these excess deaths in 2020 were those caused by “clearly diagnosed” covid-19.
“Counting those who died from other causes but tested positive for covid, [deaths of people with covid-19 constitute] 50% of excess mortality in 2020,” Golikova said.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine now has a globally recognized seal of approval after British medical journal the Lancet published a peer-reviewed paper last week that put the vaccine in the same league as Western doses — with 91.6 percent efficacy 21 days after the first shot and 91.8 percent for those over 60 years old.
For Russia’s biotech industry, the results are validating after facing Western skepticism, fueled largely by Russia’s decision to release the vaccine before medical trials were complete — even using researchers as test subjects.
It’s also a powerful calling card for Sputnik in a world desperate to expand vaccine supply lines.
Sputnik V is registered in at least 16 other countries or territories, mainly in the former Soviet Union, the Middle East and Latin America. The European Union, facing vaccine supply shortfalls, is now looking at possibly clearing the way for Sputnik and a Chinese vaccine.
Sputnik’s apparent success capped a push that reflected Russia’s capacity for scientific improvisation. Russian experts piggybacked on existing vaccines developed in the Gamaleya National Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology but ran roughshod over normal scientific protocols.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, funding for science collapsed and researchers flocked to the West. Putin has tried to re-energize stagnant Russian science, pouring money into universities and research labs. In 2018, he called for more published research and practical applications.
In the past decade, Russia has built several cutting-edge science institutions such the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, also called Skoltech, outside Moscow. But a lingering Soviet mentality sets bureaucratic barriers for collaboration with foreign scientists or imports of research materials.