05/09/2021 19:05
Clarín.com
World
Updated 05/09/2021 19:05
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the agency will "carefully" analyze a new report according to which the actual number of deaths from Covid-19 in the United States
is 36% higher than the official total.
The analysis published by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation of the University of Washington School of Medicine (IHME) gave that the number of deaths from coronavirus in the United States since March 2020
was 905,289 against an official total of 574,043.
"We know that the number of victims of this pandemic is not necessarily only those who have specifically gone through Covid-19,
but the excess of deaths related to access to care,
non-presentation to care and many other things," said the director of the CDC, Dr. Rochelle Walensky.
"So we will look at this carefully and then work within the CDC to make decisions on whether to
count it as an excess or to count it as Covid-specific,
" Walensky said.
IHME argues that the official death toll is comparatively low
because governments only report
coronavirus deaths that occur in hospitals or among patients with a confirmed case of the virus.
The institute also claimed that its new analysis adjusted the so-called
"excess mortality"
figure
to exclude deaths that it attributed to factors such as delays in medical appointments, drug abuse, alcohol and suicide.
Global crisis
"As dire as the Covid-19 pandemic may seem, this analysis shows that the actual number of victims
is significantly worse
," IHME Director Dr Chris Murray said in a statement.
"Understanding the actual number of deaths from Covid-19 not only helps us appreciate the scale of this global crisis, it also provides valuable information to policymakers developing response and recovery plans," Murray added.
According to the IHME analysis, the United States
is one of the five nations with more than half a million deaths
from coronavirus.
The others are India (654,395), Mexico (617,127), Brazil (595,903) and Russia (593,610).
On the other hand, the CDC reported that international travelers arriving in the United States
will be able to use
self
-
administered
Covid-19 tests
to meet entry requirements.
According to the CDC, the self-assessment
must be a nasal swab
or saliva test approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The test must also be monitored in real time by
a telehealth service
capable of confirming both a negative test and that the procedures were followed correctly.
In addition, the CDC says that airlines must be able to confirm the identity of the traveler and the details of the test results.
The results themselves must be provided to US officials upon arrival.
Business group Airlines for America praised the move in a statement, calling it
"an encouraging step to facilitate the international travel process."
Since January 26 of this year, the CDC has required that all airline passengers arriving in the United States from abroad
take a coronavirus test
no more than 72 hours before their flight departure and submit a test result. negative or an authorization granted to travel by a doctor or public health official.
Source: ANSA
PB
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