According to estimates by the World Health Organization in Venezuela, 22,325 people would have died as of December 2021 due to covid-19, according to the Global excess deaths associated with COVID-19, January 2020-December 2021released this Thursday.
The figure is much higher than the official one, which to date does not even count 6,000 deaths. The latest data offered by the government of Nicolás Maduro, last Wednesday, indicates that there have been 5,709 deaths to date. By December 28, the report offered by government spokesmen indicated that there were 5,316 deaths.
Today we do not report deaths, we maintain the figure of 5,709 throughout the national territory.#4May#VenezuelaProductiva
— Alfred Nazareth (@luchaalmada) May 5, 2022
Excess mortality from covid-19
“Tracking excess mortality provides us with a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of COVID-19 beyond the number of COVID-19 deaths reported by countries,” the WHO noted in the report.
WHO is tracking global excess mortality as the pandemic evolves over time to reveal a picture of its impact and total burden on countries, health systems and people.
The excess mortality associated with covid-19 is used to quantify the direct and indirect impacts of the pandemic, it added.
“Excess mortality is defined as the difference between the total number of deaths that have occurred and the number of deaths that would have been expected in the absence of the pandemic, that is, in a scenario without covid-19,” he explained.
Excess mortality includes deaths directly attributable to covid-19 that countries counted and reported to WHO, it also includes deaths directly attributable to covid-19 that countries did not count or report.
It also includes deaths indirectly associated with covid-19, due to other causes and diseases, as a result of the broader impact of the pandemic on health systems and society.
Fewer deaths that would have occurred under normal circumstances but were averted due to pandemic-related changes in social conditions and personal behaviors, for example fewer traffic deaths or influenza deaths due to local lockdowns and less travel .
deaths in the world
Global excess mortality associated with covid-19 was 14.91 million in the 24 months between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021, representing 9.49 million more deaths than reported globally. worldwide as directly attributable to covid-19, the WHO said.
“Twenty countries, representing approximately 50% of the world population, account for more than 80% of the estimated global excess mortality for the period January 2020 to December 2021,” it said.
These countries are Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Germany, India, Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Italy, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, the Russian Federation, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United States. United States of America (USA).