Not 30 lakh but 70 lakh people died of Covid: Study

New York: A study conducted by the University of Washington further confirms the allegations across the world that the exact number of Covid deaths is not being released.

The research conducted by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, estimates that Covid has so far killed 7 million people, twice the 3.24 million reported deaths, globally. While only 5,94,974 deaths have been officially reported in America, the Research Institute estimates that nine lakh people have died. They further allege that the mortality rate of countries such as India, Mexico, Russia is obscure since the official count of deaths in these countries continues to be below four lakhs.

The study compared the death rate from March 2020 to 3 May 2021 with the death rate of the previous year. They also claim to have considered several other factors during the pandemic to draw this conclusion.

"The analysis just shows how challenging it has been during the pandemic to accurately track the deaths — and actually, transmission — of COVID," Dr Christopher Murray, Director of Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, said. "And by focusing in on the total COVID death rate, I think we bring to light just how much greater the impact of COVID has been already and maybe in the future."

The additional death rate was estimated on the basis of official death statistics from different countries, academic studies and other sources. Though a few researchers and research institutions endorse this study, it is also opposed and suspected by others.