COVID-19 killed about 15m people worldwide in 2 years – WHO

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Thursday the COVID-19 pandemic killed 14.9 million people globally in the last two years.

In a statement in Geneva, the United Nations health body said figure include people who died from a COVID-19 infection and those with illnesses and injuries that passed away because of stretched health services and lockdowns.

“The overall death figure now for those dying with or of COVID-19 is more than 6.2 million,” the WHO said in reference to numbers sent to the organisation from member nations.

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The agency called for more investment in global healthcare to ensure life-saving treatment during crises such as pandemics.

The United States Institute for Health Metrics had in an earlier report estimated that 15.4 million people died from the pandemic up to the end of 2021.

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