Thread by @vrsrini

Excess deaths in #Karnataka were nearly 6 times (5.77) the COVID19 death toll from April 2020 to May 2021. That's close to the undercount factor in Tamil Nadu (6.2). My colleague Sharath S & I find based on monthwise #CRS data from 2015 to 2021 (1/n) thehindu.com/news/national/…

Karnataka recorded an estimated 1,67,888 excess deaths over the baseline mortality for five years (2015-19) in the pre-pandemic years. Graph shows the excess deaths peaks both in the 1st and in the 2nd wave (2/n)

Here's a comparison with the estimated undercount factors in other States for whom a similar exercise was done. #excessdeaths. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu with an undercount factor of 4.7/6.5 were better off than A.P. (34) & MP (42) for similar periods (3/n)

We also looked at the #excess deaths in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (Greater Bangalore municipal area). There were an estimated 31,029 excess deaths, based on comparisons with 2015-2019 data, for an undercount factor of 2.3 (4/n)

This (2.3) figure was lower than that of Chennai (5.6). Other cities such as Hyderabad (17.5-30.5 - estimated) and Kolkata (4.5) also registered higher undercounts for 2021 alone. Estimates were calculated by @the_hindu based on excess deaths in the cities' municipal limits (5/n)

.@DrLahariya explains why govts needs to focus on the excess mortality estimations to strengthen their pandemic response in @the_hindu #oped - thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/… (n/n)

Uggh.. "govts need* to focus*