New Research: India’s Actual COVID-19 Deaths Could Be in Millions
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New research suggests that the actual number of COVID-19 deaths in India could be as much as 10 times the official count.
An independent, non-government report released Tuesday estimates the number of deaths at between 3 to 4.7 million, from January 2020 to June 2021.
India’s official government estimate of COVID-19 deaths is more than 414,000. But most health experts agree that the actual number is likely much higher.
Excess deaths
The new report estimates the number of “
excess deaths” from the disease. This is generally defined as the difference between the number of observed deaths and the number of expected deaths during a specific period of time.
The number of people who have died in the coronavirus pandemic in India so far is likely to exceed three million nearly 10 times the official Covid-19 death toll making it one of the worst human tragedies in the nation’s history, according to a new study.
In a comprehensive examination of the true toll of the pandemic in the nation of 1.4 billion, the Center for Global Development, a Washington research institute, attempted to quantify the excess deaths from all causes during the pandemic based on state data, international estimates, serological studies and household surveys.
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“True deaths are likely to be in the several millions, not hundreds of thousands, making this arguably India’s worst human tragedy,” said its authors, one of whom is Arvind Subramanian, former chief economic adviser to the Narendra Modi government.
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Updated July 20
India’s pandemic death toll could be in the millions
Most experts believe the nation s official toll of more than 414,000 dead is a vast undercount.
By SHEIKH SAALIQ and KRUTIKA PATHIAssociated Press
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Ramananda Sarkar, 43, who had cremated more than 450 COVID-19 victims, stands by burning funeral pyres of COVID-19 victims in Gauhati, India, in September. Anupam Nath/Associated Press
NEW DELHI India’s excess deaths during the coronavirus pandemic could be a staggering 10 times the official COVID-19 toll, likely making it modern India’s worst human tragedy, according to the most comprehensive research yet on the ravages of the virus in the South Asian country.
Image via AP Photo/Anupam Nath
This article is republished here with permission from The Associated Press. This content is shared here because the topic may interest Snopes readers; it does not, however, represent the work of Snopes fact-checkers or editors.
NEW DELHI (AP) India’s excess deaths during the coronavirus pandemic could be a staggering 10 times the official COVID-19 toll, likely making it modern India’s worst human tragedy, according to the most comprehensive research yet on the ravages of the virus in the South Asian country.
Most experts believe India’s official toll of more than 414,000 dead is a vast undercount, but the government has dismissed those concerns as exaggerated and misleading.