According to the estimates published by the WHO on Thursday, the excess deaths in India due to Covid is approximately 47.4 lakh, which is 10 times higher than the official report published by India, i.e. 4.81 lakh. This article will walk you through the excess Covid deaths in India estimated by the WHO and the reaction of the Indian Government to the UN report!
Excess Covid Deaths In India
Amidst the annual report published by the Civil Registration System( CRS) for the registration of births and deaths in the year 2020, which shows that 4.75 lakh more deaths have occurred in India than the last year, conflict brewed between the Indian Government and the WHO after the latter estimated that around 8.3 lakh deaths have been witnessed by India in the year 2020. The reports also published that the total excess death toll globally between 2020 and 2021 is 1.49 crore!
The excess Covid deaths in India are calculated as the difference in the number of deaths that have been witnessed by the country and the number of deaths that would be expected in absence of the pandemic. The excess deaths are calculated as the deaths due to the pandemic added to the deaths that have been indirectly caused by the pandemic, such as other diseases which could not be treated as the health system was under pressure from treating Covid-19 patients.
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Indian Health Ministry On WHO’S Estimate Of Covid Deaths In India
Followed by the issuance of the WHO reports on excess COVID deaths in India, the Indian Government, and the Health Ministry has registered an official objection to the WHO report. According to the Indian Government, the WHO used mathematical modeling systems to estimate Covid deaths in India, ignoring the country’s concerns.
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The Union Health Ministry quoted, “ In view of the availability of authentic data published through the Civil Registration System (CRS) by Registrar General of India (RGI), mathematical models should not be used for projecting excess mortality numbers for India.” The Indian Government also stated that despite the official reports published by India, the WHO relied on data from websites and media and incorporated them into their mathematical modeling and later extrapolated the data from 17 states to the remaining others, which is not an accurate way of calculation as some states witnessed higher death rate than others and extrapolating their data to other states would result in excess Covid related deaths in India, which is far from the truth. The Government also sought an answer from the WHO for placing India under Tier-|| countries.
The Health Ministry also stated that despite India’s repeated letters to WHO regarding the Covid deaths in India, the organization chose to ignore their messages and published the data according to wrong modeling, even after innumerable objections from the Government.
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Conclusion
In response to the objections issued by the Government on excess Covid deaths in India, the WHO quoted, “ estimates may not be regarded as the national statistics officially produced by India due to differences arising from the data and methods used by WHO”. The WHO added that they are in constant touch with their “colleagues“ from India and are holding regular consultations with the member states.
Samira Asma, Assistant Director-General for Data, Analytics, and Delivery at WHO, stated that the estimates have used the best available data, following a transparent approach for the estimation process for the excess Covid deaths in India!
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