WHO: True COVID-19 death toll estimated at 14.9 million

COVID-19 has directly or indirectly killed 14.9 million people globally in 2020 and 2021, the World Health Organization said in its latest annual world health statistics report released on Friday.

As of March 11, 6.9 million deaths have been reported to the WHO. But the figure is seen by the global health agency as a significant undercount, as disruptions to healthcare services during the pandemic could lead to indirect life losses.

The WHO's analysis used mathematical modeling to calculate "excess mortality" for 2020 and 2021 — how many more people died than would normally be expected based on mortality in the same area if the crisis had not happened.