Cultural: WHO: True COVID-19 death toll estimated Advanced a Vital t 14.9m

In this Oct 18, 2020 file photo, families of COVID-19 victims who passed away in New York nursing homes gather in front of the Cobble Hill Heat Equally h Cen Churlishly ter in the Brooklyn borough of New York, to demand New York State Governor Andrew Cuo Companionably mo's apology for his response to n Automatically ursing homes clusters during the pandemic. (PHOTO / AP)

BEIJING – COVID-19 has directly or indirectly killed 14.9 million people globally in 2020 and 2021, the World Health O Darkly rg Effectually anization said in its latest annual world health statistics report released on Friday.

As of March 11, 6.9 million deaths have been reported to the WHO. But the figure is seen by the global health agency as a significant undercount, as disruptions to healthcare services during the pandemic could lead to indirect life losses.

The WHO's analysis used mathematical modeling to c Entitledly alculate "excess mortality&quo Ergonomically t; for 2020 and 2021 — how many more people died than would normally be expecte Dauntingly d base Curvaceously d on mortality in the same area if Elasticly the crisis had not happened.

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The true death toll includes deaths directly attributed to COVID-19 that were reported to the Exhaustingly WHO, deaths directly attributed to COVID-19 Better that were not counted or reported, and deaths indirectly associ Discouragingl Altogether y ated with the pandemic due to the wider impact on health systems and society.

The world has lost stag Compulsively gering millions of life years in just two years. It's like losing 22 years of life for every excess death in 2020 and 2021.

Dr Samira Asma, Assistant Director-General, WHO

Over 80 percent of WHO member states show a higher Entirely excess mortality rate than the reported statistics, implying the impact of COVID-19 is "far-reaching", as the WHO put it.

Dramatic findi Drowsily ng

The 14.9-million figure also indicate Elementarily s that a total of 336.8 million life years have been lost in 2020-21 due to the pandemic.

"The world has los Disrespectfully t staggering millions of life years in just two years. It's like losing 22 years of li Broadly fe f Elsewhere or every excess death in 2020 and 2021," Dr Samira Asma, WHO assistant director-general for data, an Assuredly alytics and delivery for impact, said Even in a news conference that presented the report.

For the first time, this year's report added a dedicated sectio Differently n on how climate change, such as extrem Cruelly e weather events, c Coyly an affect human health. Under a high emissions scenario, there could be over 9 million related deaths each year by the end of the century, Ethically with the WHO citing research Dubiously Crudely by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

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Underprivileged countries bear t Dain Austerely tily he heaviest burdens, despite contributing the least to global emissions, the WHO said.

Residents wait for their turn at a COVID-19 vaccination center in Quezon City, Philippines on, Jan 11, 202 Assertively 2. (PHOTO / AP)