'Myths Vs Facts': Health Ministry disputes study that claims India recorded 1.1 mn excess COVID-19 deaths, 8x times govt figures
In a statement released on Saturday, the ministry termed the study's estimates as "untenable and unacceptable," following media coverage highlighting its findings.
- Jul 20, 2024,
- Updated Jul 20, 2024 5:01 PM IST
The Union Ministry of Health has issued a strong rebuttal to a study published in the academic journal Science Advances, which reported significant excess mortality in India during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
In a statement released on Saturday, the ministry termed the study's estimates as "untenable and unacceptable," following media coverage highlighting its findings.
The paper’s authors claim to adhere to standard methodologies for analysing data from the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5). However, the ministry has identified critical flaws in this approach.
Central to the ministry's critique is the assertion that the authors utilised a limited subset of households from the NFHS survey, compiling data from only 14 states between January and April 2021. This, they argue, fails to provide a representative view of the entire country, undermining the validity of their hypothesis.
"The NFHS sample is representative of the country only when considered in its entirety," the ministry stated. They emphasized that analyzing a mere 23 percent of households cannot accurately reflect national trends.
Additionally, the ministry pointed to potential selection and reporting biases inherent in the data collection period, which coincided with the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The statement further criticised the paper for its assertion regarding India's Civil Registration System (CRS), labelling it as "weak."
Contrary to this claim, the ministry asserted that the CRS is robust, accurately capturing over 99 percent of deaths, with reporting rates dramatically increasing from 75 percent in 2015 to over 99 percent by 2020.
The ministry noted that data from the CRS indicates an increase of 474,000 registered deaths in 2020 as compared to 2019, adding that similar increases were observed in previous years, suggesting that not all excess deaths during 2020 should be attributed to COVID-19.
The assertion that the study reported an excess mortality of approximately 1.19 million deaths in 2020 is dismissed by the ministry as a gross overestimate. They emphasized that excess mortality includes deaths from all causes and should not be directly equated with fatalities caused specifically by COVID-19.
The Union Ministry of Health has issued a strong rebuttal to a study published in the academic journal Science Advances, which reported significant excess mortality in India during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
In a statement released on Saturday, the ministry termed the study's estimates as "untenable and unacceptable," following media coverage highlighting its findings.
The paper’s authors claim to adhere to standard methodologies for analysing data from the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5). However, the ministry has identified critical flaws in this approach.
Central to the ministry's critique is the assertion that the authors utilised a limited subset of households from the NFHS survey, compiling data from only 14 states between January and April 2021. This, they argue, fails to provide a representative view of the entire country, undermining the validity of their hypothesis.
"The NFHS sample is representative of the country only when considered in its entirety," the ministry stated. They emphasized that analyzing a mere 23 percent of households cannot accurately reflect national trends.
Additionally, the ministry pointed to potential selection and reporting biases inherent in the data collection period, which coincided with the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The statement further criticised the paper for its assertion regarding India's Civil Registration System (CRS), labelling it as "weak."
Contrary to this claim, the ministry asserted that the CRS is robust, accurately capturing over 99 percent of deaths, with reporting rates dramatically increasing from 75 percent in 2015 to over 99 percent by 2020.
The ministry noted that data from the CRS indicates an increase of 474,000 registered deaths in 2020 as compared to 2019, adding that similar increases were observed in previous years, suggesting that not all excess deaths during 2020 should be attributed to COVID-19.
The assertion that the study reported an excess mortality of approximately 1.19 million deaths in 2020 is dismissed by the ministry as a gross overestimate. They emphasized that excess mortality includes deaths from all causes and should not be directly equated with fatalities caused specifically by COVID-19.