‘Covid toll may be two to three times higher’

GENEVA: Official death toll from the Covid-19 pandemic is likely to be a “significant undercount”, the World Health Organization said on Friday, estimating that the true figure of direct and indirect deaths could be two to three times higher.

Presenting its annual World Health Statistics report, the WHO estimated that total deaths from the Covid pandemic in 2020 were at least 3 million or 1.2 million more than 1.8 million figure officially reported.

By May 20 2021, WHO statistics showed around 3.4 million people had died globally as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, although the real figure could be much higher, the WHO said.

With the rising death toll in Latin America and in Asia as new variants spread, the death toll “would truly be two to three times higher,” said Samira Asma, WHO’S assistant directorgeneral in its data and analytics division.

“So I think safely about 6 to 8 million deaths could be an estimate on a cautionary note,” Asma told a virtual press briefing.

Meanwhile, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies says Asia faces a Covid-19 vaccine supply crisis.

It said in a statement on Friday that Nepal and Bangladesh have run out of vaccines while a majority of countries in the region are struggling with shortages.