New Delhi: As the COVID-19[female[feminine The pandemic is raging, India has reported over 43.02 million cases of COVID-19 and 5,21,264 deaths so far. Over the past two years, the country has steadily climbed the ranks, with only the United States and Brazil having a higher number of victims at present. There have, however, been allegations that many deaths in India have gone uncounted – mainly during the second wave led by Delta.

Apparently the World Health Organization is currently working on a report that will name India as the country with the highest number of deaths from COVID-19. According to development platform Devex, the report (due in early April) will put India’s estimated death toll at least four times the current number, and the global death toll is expected to become double the currently reported total. of 61.48 lakh. Currently, the United States has just over 10 lakh deaths, while Brazil follows with 6.6 lakh people who have died from COVID-19. India is only the third country to cross the five lakh mark.

Although repeatedly denied by India, the undercount claim is not new. Researchers and international media made similar claims last year as the country grappled with a delta variant led to a massive spike in cases.

“Examination of all-cause mortality data for the year spanning 2020 to 2021 revealed excess mortality tracking waves of 26-29% new transmission variants. Extrapolating to the Indian population , this equates to the deaths of over 3.2 million people, with the majority occurring from April to June 2021,” reads an excerpt from a research paper published on the Science magazine website in January this year. .

Another article, published on The Lancet in March this year, used excess mortality data from 12 Indian states to make a similar claim. According to this study, the highest number of cumulative excess deaths was estimated in India.

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The Devex report also quotes an anonymous member of the WHO technical advisory who worked on the report to add that India had expressed reservations and requested that the estimates be published “10 years later”. Despite the anticipation of a refusal by many countries, the WHO is said to be moving forward with the document.

An earlier update shared by the WHO estimated that the world is likely facing a significant undercount in the total number of deaths directly and indirectly attributed to COVID-19, with many areas lacking the tools and resources needed to gather accurate, complete and timely data on births, deaths. and causes of death. Countries also use different processes for testing and reporting COVID-19 deaths, making comparisons difficult.

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