The death rate has accelerated during the pandemic
The death rate has accelerated during the pandemic
We look at the factors causing the increased rate at which people are dying from COVID
The rate at which people are dying from COVID-19 has increased. It took just 82 days for the death toll to rise from 3 to 4 million. A worrying trend that shows the urgent need for everyone, everywhere to have access to the vaccines.
So what are the possible factors causing the accelerating death rate?
- New variants – Research has shown that some new variants of the COVID-19 virus are more easily transmissible, so more people are catching the virus and falling ill.
- Lack of vaccine access – Much of the world remains un-immunised and at risk – without vaccinated populations, new and more contagious mutations can circulate, contributing to increased global death rates.
- Public health systems overwhelmed – In regions where the volume of cases is too high for local and national health services to cope, the result can mean increasing numbers of deaths.
Vaccines are the best way to stop new variants circulating, cases rising and death rates increasing.
“Some countries are relaxing as though the pandemic is already over,” says Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO. But, he warns, “the world is at a perilous point.”
You can do your bit to help stop the spread of COVID-19 by taking the vaccine when offered it, continuing to wear a mask, washing your hands regularly, physically distancing, and opening doors and windows to let the fresh air in.
