Undercounting of Covid deaths: Over 43K more people died in 2021 compared to in Haryana2020

The annual report of Medical Certification of Cause of Death (MCCD), 2021, revealed that from 2017-2020, the yearly rise in the number of registered deaths ranged from 1.65 per cent to 12.3 per cent in Haryana; however, in 2021, it jumped to 20.3 per cent.

The report was released on May 7. In 2018, there were 1.86 lakh registered deaths in Haryana that jumped to 1.89 lakh in 2019, with a rise of 1.65 per cent. In 2020, Covid-19 pandemic started.

There was a rise of 12.3 per cent in the registered deaths, as there were 2.12 lakh registered fatalities.

However, in 2021, a total of 2.55 lakh deaths were recorded, with a rise of 20.3 per cent over the previous year.

Not all deaths are registered in India.

No significant incident happened in 2021 that would explain the jump of over 20 per cent other than Covid-19.

Registration of deaths caused by Covid-19

In the report, it was mentioned that a mere 25.3 per cent of all registered deaths in Haryana were medically certified in 2021.

The Covid-19 category was also added in 2020.

In 2021, 11,799 people died due to Covid-19, as per the official figure, while in 2020, the figure was 1,199.

However, among deaths due to respiratory diseases, the MCCD data pointed out 3,127 deaths in 2018 that fell to 3,114 in 2019. There were 3,117 deaths due to respiratory infections in 2020. However, it jumped to 6,006 in 2021, making a rise of 92.6 per cent.

Explaining the data, health economist Aswini Nanda from Central University of Jammu said, “Not all deaths are medically certified in India. The symptoms of Covid-19 are similar to that of respiratory infections. So, it appears that many Covid deaths have been classified as deaths due to respiratory infections. There appears to be a problem in

classification.”

Haryana Tribune