- By Vivek Raj
- Sun, 21 Jul 2024 01:26 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
The Centre has dismissed claims of excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic in India as a "gross and misleading overestimate." The claims were made in a study led by Indian-origin researchers from Oxford University, published in the US-based journal Science Advances, as reported by news agency IANS.
The study suggested that India experienced 17 per cent higher or 1.19 million more deaths in 2020 compared to the previous year, a figure eight times higher than the official COVID-19 death count and 1.5 times higher than WHO estimates. However, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) criticised the study's methodology and findings, calling them "untenable and unacceptable."
According to MoHFW, deaths in India increased by 4.74 lakh in 2020 compared to 2019, based on data from the Civil Registration System (CRS). The ministry noted that similar increases were observed in previous years (4.86 lakh in 2018 and 6.90 lakh in 2019) and said that not all excess deaths are due to the pandemic and may include mortality from all causes.
The ministry attributed the increase in deaths to an improving trend in death registration (92 per cent in 2019) and a larger population base in the succeeding year. It also said that India recorded about 5.3 lakh deaths due to COVID-19.
The MoHFW criticised the study's reliance on the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5), which covered only 23 per cent of households from parts of 14 states. The ministry argued that this sample is not representative of the entire country and deemed the "nature of the estimates is erroneous."
Citing data from India's Sample Registration System (SRS), which covers approximately 84 lakh people across 36 states/UTs, the ministry highlighted that there was very little, if any, excess mortality in 2020 compared to 2019. The crude death rate remained constant at 6.0/1000 in both years, with no reduction in life expectancy.
(With agency inputs)