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Excess mortality across Western countries exceeds 3 mln — scientists

To calculate this indicator, scientists analyzed data on fluctuations in mortality levels recorded in 2020-2022 within two global medical databases, WMD and HMD

TASS, June 4. Despite all efforts, including mass vaccination campaigns, over three million residents in 47 Western countries suffered direct and indirect consequences of COVID-19 between 2020 and 2022, Dutch healthcare professionals stated in the scientific journal BMJ Public Health.

"Excess mortality has remained high in the Western World for three consecutive years, despite the implementation of containment measures and COVID-19 vaccines. This raises serious concerns. Government leaders and policymakers need to thoroughly investigate the underlying causes of persistent excess mortality," the scientists say.

This conclusion was made by a group of Dutch healthcare professionals led by associate professor Saskia Mostert from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (the Netherlands), when assessing how the level of excess mortality changed in 47 Western world countries during the first three years of the pandemic.

To calculate this indicator, scientists analyzed data on fluctuations in mortality levels recorded in 2020-2022 within two global medical databases, WMD and HMD. These data were compared with how the mortality level changed in Western countries between 2015 and 2019.

It turned out that the total number of excess deaths in 47 countries of the Western World was 3,098 between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2022, with the highest number of victims (1.2 mln) occurring in 2021, when the alpha and delta strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus began to spread globally. Furthermore, in 2022, the level of excess mortality remained very high (over 800,000 people), despite the active use of vaccines and protective measures. The scientists also found significant differences in the level of excess mortality among individual countries and regions.

For example, Greenland had no excess deaths between 2020 and 2022, a trend also observed in Denmark, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Canada, and Australia. Meanwhile, the level of excess mortality sharply rose in many other developed countries, including Lithuania, Slovakia, the United States, the Czech Republic, Croatia, and Bulgaria. According to the researchers, authorities in these countries should thoroughly study the consequences of COVID spread to reduce excess mortality during future infectious disease outbreaks.

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