1.1 mn excess deaths during Covid-19, 8 times more than govt figure: Study

In India, 11.9 lakh excess deaths occurred in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, 17 per cent higher compared to 2019, an international study has found.

The estimate is about eight times higher than the official COVID-19 deaths in India, and 1.5 times the World Health Organization's estimates, researchers, including those from the University of Oxford, UK, said.

Using data of over 7.65 lakh individuals, the study estimated changes in life expectancy at birth, by gender and social group between 2019 and 2020 in India, a country where one-third of global pandemic excess deaths are thought to have occurred, according to the authors.

The data was taken from the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5).

The life expectancy in women fell by 3.1 years, while it fell by 2.1 years in men, the authors said. Gender inequalities in healthcare and resource distribution within households could be possible reasons, they said.

The patterns contrast with those seen in high-income countries, where .