The World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday that its new estimates put the total number of deaths directly or indirectly related to the COVID-19 pandemic between January 1, 2020, and December 2021 at about 14.9 million.

During this period, between 13.3 million and 16.6 million people died from the coronavirus directly caused or attributable to the pandemic’s impact on the health system, scientists said.

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The number is more than double the official death toll at Johns Hopkins University 6000000In Southeast Asia, Europe and the Americas, most excess mortality rates – calculated as the difference between the number of deaths that have occurred and the number of deaths that would have been expected in the absence of the pandemic based on previous data.

“Most excess deaths (84%) are concentrated in Southeast Asia, Europe and the Americas. About 68% of excess deaths are concentrated in just 10 countries globally. Middle-income countries account for 81% of the 14.9 million excess deaths. Deaths over a 24-month period (53% in low- and middle-income countries, 28% in upper-middle-income countries), 15% in high-income and 4% in low-income countries,” the agency said.

A team led by Canadian researchers Pay attention to More than 3 million people have died from Covid-19 in India alone, and a new WHO analysis estimates the country’s missed death toll at between 3.3 million and 6.5 million.

India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare questioned the WHO’s methodology, calling the analysis “problematic” and complaining that the estimates released “did not adequately address India’s concerns”.

Estimates over a two-year period confirm that worldwide deaths are higher among men than women, and higher among older adults.

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These estimates are the result of a global collaboration that resulted in COVID-19 Mortality Assessment Technical Advisory Group negotiate with the country.

While many countries still lack the capacity to reliably monitor mortality, the WHO says countries can use their own data to generate or update their estimates using publicly available methods.

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros said: “These sobering data not only underscore the impact of the pandemic, but also the need for all countries to invest in more resilient health systems to support essential health services during crises, Including stronger health information systems,” Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement. “WHO is committed to working with all countries to strengthen their health information systems and generate better data for better decision-making and better outcomes. »

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The WHO said it was not yet able to distinguish direct deaths from COVID-19 from other deaths caused by the pandemic, except that future plans to review death certificates would not study it.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.