ALBANY COUNTY — On Thursday, the World Health Organization released a stunning report showing that, had the pandemic not occurred, the world over the last two years would have had 15 million more people.

These “excess” deaths total more than twice the 5.42 million COVID-19 deaths reported to the WHO.

“The monitoring of excess mortality provides us with a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of COVID-19 beyond the number of COVID-19 deaths reported by countries,” says the report.

“Excess mortality” is defined as the difference between the total number of deaths that have occurred and the number of deaths that would have been expected in the absence of the pandemic.

The 14.91 million deaths — and counting — includes deaths attributable directly to COVID-19 that were counted and reported to the WHO as well as those that were not counted or reported by countries.

It also includes deaths indirectly associated with COVID-19, due to other causes and diseases, resulting from the wider impact of the pandemic on health systems and society.

Finally, the number is minus any deaths that would have occurred under normal circumstances but were averted due to pandemic-related changes in social conditions and personal behaviors, such as fewer traffic deaths or influenza deaths due to local lockdowns and less travel.

The report covers the 24 months between Jan. 1, 2020 and Dec. 31, 2021, representing 9.49 million more deaths than those globally reported as directly attributable to COVID-19.

“The impact of the pandemic has been over several waves with each characterized by unique regional distributions, mortality levels and drivers,” the report says.

Twenty countries, representing about half of the global population, account for over 80 percent of the estimated global excess mortality.

These countries are Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Germany, India, Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Italy, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, the Russian Federation, South Africa, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United States of America.

Where there were gaps in underlying data, statistical methods were used to derive the expected and total deaths based on the levels of data available for countries; this is why these figures are called “estimates,” the report says.

The report shows marked differences for various geographic areas. In the Americas, for instance the number of excess deaths more closely mirrors the number of reported COVID-19 deaths than in South-East Asia.

The same is true of high-income areas — where the gap is 2.16 million deaths — as compared to lower-middle-income areas, where the gap is 7.87 million deaths.

The red lines in the accompanying graphs chart the excess deaths while the solid blue shows the reported COVID-19 deaths. The line for excess deaths dips below zero because lives were saved during pandemic lockdowns when there were fewer than typical car crashes, for instance, or deaths due to other infectious diseases.

Albany County surge continues

Another Albany County resident succumbed to COVID-19 this week — a woman in her sixties — bringing the county’s death toll from the virus to 552.

The surge caused by new subvariants of Omicron continues to build in Albany County as Executive Daniel McCoy noted, in his Friday release, a seven-day average of new daily positive cases now up to 211.

Albany County’s most recent seven-day average infection rate is up to 9.5 percent while the more reliable metric of cases per 100,000 is now up to 49.1, McCoy reported.

Statewide, there are 43.73 cases per 100,000 as a seven-day average. Western New York has the highest count at 58.49 while the North Country has the lowest count at 35.22 cases per 100,000.

Fifty-two county residents are currently hospitalized with the coronavirus, with four of them in an intensive-care unit.

“This is one of the most concerning updates I’ve provided in a long time,” said McCoy in the Friday release. “The daily average of new COVID infections continues to increase and has now trended above 200; the number of residents currently in the hospital with the virus is now the highest it’s been since February 17; and sadly, individuals continue to succumb to COVID complications.”

 Still just over a quarter of Albany County residents are not fully vaccinated against the virus.

“I continue to encourage everyone to get vaccinated and get the booster shot if they haven’t yet,” said McCoy, “as this is the best protection from serious illness if the virus is contracted. We also need people to continue getting tested and reporting at-home COVID tests to the County Health Department so we can get a better understanding of the level of community spread.”

Mental health help

Also on Friday, McCoy announced a new social media campaign and video series to raise awareness for mental health and substance abuse challenges while connecting to programs and resources to help.

The theme of the campaign is one of McCoy’s favorite phrases: “We are all in this together.”

“One of the most devastating impacts COVID has had is on our collective mental health, and we continue on the difficult path of breaking down the stigma of asking for help,” McCoy said in a statement, launching the campaign.

“Beyond that, as we continue to see reports of how social media can harm the emotional well-being of our young people, it’s critical that we find creative solutions to help those who are struggling,” he went on.

“A good cry is good,” McCoy says in the first video; others will be posted later on the county’s website.

The video says residents who are struggling may call 518-447-4555, and press 0 during regular workday hours. After hours, people in crisis may call psychiatric crisis services at 518-549-6500.

“Don’t be afraid to call …,” says McCoy in the video. “Let’s figure it out together.”

“If the last two years have shown us anything, it has shown us how resilient we are; though it has also reminded us all just how vulnerable we can be,” said Stephen Giordano, the county’s mental health director. “These are two important truths that are too often overlooked, forgotten or denied …. 

“On average, one in five individuals will experience a diagnosable mental health condition in a given year. The largest obstacle we face is not funding, but rather it is stigma. That’s why I’m proud to join County Executive McCoy in this initiative to bring greater awareness to the fact that mental health challenges can affect anyone at any given time and we need to see ourselves in the struggles of others.”