> The analysis, from the Center for Global Development, a think tank in Washington, D.C., looks at the number of "excess deaths" that occurred in India between January 2020 and June 2021 — in other words, how many more people died during that period than during a similar period of time in 2019 or other recent years.
> Drawing death data from civil registries and other sources, the report came up with three estimates for undercounts. The conclusion is that between 3.4 and 4.7 million more people died in that pandemic period than would have been predicted. That's up to 10 times higher than the Indian government's official death toll of 414,482.
The story isn't about the number of deaths itself but rather the underreporting of deaths. Another possible title would be "Covid-19 believed to be underreported by 6-10x in India" - though that fails to capture the sheer toll of the death and isn't as eye catching.
There is nothing to compare it with in Germany (for example) because the number of unreported covid-19 deaths is likely very small in comparison to the totals.
Because it's a pretty high number. It shows that if an epidemic breaks out in an where it cannot be controlled, the toll is high. If Andorra would have denied the existence of COVID and refused to take measures, the numbers would be a bit lower.
