Summary of the news
- The number of deaths from Covid is greater than officially reported.
- The estimate comes from the WHO (World Health Organization).
- The lack of infrastructure in some countries may have delayed detection of the virus.
- The WHO estimates that almost 15 million people died between 2020 and 2021 alone.
According to the WHO, deaths from Covid are underreported Joseph Prezioso / AFP 1/11/2021
The WHO (World Health Organization) Health) estimated this Friday (5) that the COVID19 left “at least 20 million” dead, practically three times the number of officially recorded victims.
The variety of counting methods and the political sensitivity of these statistics often make it impossible to know the exact number of deaths.
Nearly 7 million deaths worldwide
The official death toll from Covid19, reported by the WHO on May 3, is 6.9 million, according to its website, which is constantly updated.
However, researchers at the United Nations health agency said in an article in the journal Nature in December that the data is far from reality.
Due to the lack of health infrastructure, some countries took much longer than others to detect the virus and therefore report it as a cause of death.
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The criteria also vary greatly from country to country. Since the end of the year, China has only counted people in statistics who died directly from Covid19related respiratory failure, a change in methodology that could underestimate the true number of victims.
The head of the UN Population Division’s Demographic Estimates Division, Patrick Gerland, told AFP that for some countries it is “very complicated” to get data on mortality.
The UN, for example, expects India to provide “results on death rates by age and sex” based on a Sample Registration System. The latest available data refer to 2019.
Deaths directly or indirectly related to the pandemic
The WHO relies on measuring “excess mortality” to compensate for this lack of reliable and comparable data.
Excess mortality is the difference between the actual number of deaths and the estimated number of deaths without a pandemic.
The WHO estimates that in the 20202021 biennium alone, nearly 15 million people worldwide died from Covid19 or “other health problems for people who could not access care because health systems were overwhelmed”.
WHO DirectorGeneral Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus revised this number upwards at a press conference this Friday (5). “At least 20 million” people have died since the pandemic began, he said.
Brazil has 6 hospitals on the list of the best in the world; know what they are
The North American magazine Newsweek annually updates a ranking of the 250 best hospitals in the world. In 2023, Brazil has six institutions on this list, which, in addition to research and innovation, also consider worldclass service. The survey takes into account the ratings of around 80,000 professionals. This year, 2,300 hospitals in 28 countries were evaluated. See below which Brazilian hospitals make up the list
The Israelita Albert Einstein Hospital in São Paulo is the only one in Latin America to be in the top 100, ranking 34th. The facility received top marks in the fields of cardiology, cardiac surgery, endocrinology, gastroenterology, neurosurgery, neurology, oncology, orthopaedics, pediatrics and urology
The SírioLibanês Hospital, also in São Paulo, is known for receiving politicians, businessmen and celebrities and ranks 104th on the list of the best in the world. The main unit in the Bela Vista district (photo) has an emergency room, surgical center, diagnostic, oncology, cardiology, immunization, infusion and rehabilitation centers
The only one on the Brazilian list outside of São Paulo, the Moinhos de Vento Hospital in Porto Alegre (RS) is ranked 115th best in the world. He has been associated with Johns Hopkins Medicine International since 2013, whose hospital is ranked fourth in the world by Newsweek.
In 177th place is Alemão Oswaldo Cruz Hospital, a reference in robotic surgery and new technologies for cancer treatment in the country
The traditional Santa Catarina Hospital on Avenida Paulista ranks 185th. For many years it was known for its maternity hospital, but recently it has focused on other specialties such as oncology
The only Brazilian public institution on the list, HCFMUSP (Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo) appears at number 210. This is the largest hospital complex in Latin America. It has more than 21,000 employees, performs more than 1 million outpatient consultations, 232,000 emergency room visits and 50,000 surgeries per year. Its institutes and laboratories are also an important source for the production of scientific content. The complex houses the Central Institute, the Institute for Psychiatry, the Institute for Heart, the Institute for Cancer, the Institute for Orthopedics and Traumatology, the Institute for Children and Adolescents, the Institute for Radiology and the Institute for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation