True COVID-19 death toll is double the official numbers, study finds
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
There have been twice as many deaths from COVID-19 around the world as have been reported, according to the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), which analyzed excess mortality and other factors.
The big picture: The U.S. has undercounted by over 300,000 deaths, while the death tolls in India and Mexico — second and third on the list, respectively — are nearly three times the official numbers, according to the analysis.
"Many deaths from COVID-19 go unreported because countries only report deaths that occur in hospitals or in patients with a confirmed infection. In many places, weak health reporting systems and low access to health care magnify this challenge," the report notes.
- In Russia, which has used unusually strict criteria for attributing deaths to COVID-19, the IHME estimate is five times the official number.
- In Egypt, there have been nearly 13 deaths for every one that's recorded, per the report.
