True global COVID-19 death toll ‘may be more than 15 million’

The official global death toll from COVID-19 has passed 4.5 million, however, the true figure may be more than three times higher, at 15 million lives lost.

The huge disparity between recorded deaths and the real scale of the pandemic can be attributed to the undercounting caused by some of the most populous countries and regions, including China, India and Russia, as well as much of Latin America and Africa, researchers said.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has announced sweeping mandates to ''turn the tide'' in the battle against coronavirus pandemic.

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Lambasting the people who refuse to receive a vaccine Biden said in a harsh tone that ''your refusal cost us.''

In his new plan vaccine mandate, Biden asked all federal employees and 17 million healthcare workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Striving to restore public confidence in his handling of the pandemic, Biden said ''we can and we will turn the tide of COVID-19.''

''It’ll take a lot of hard work and it’s going to take some time. Many of us are frustrated with the nearly 80 million Americans who are still not vaccinated even though the vaccine is safe, effective and free,'' he added.

Businesses with more than 100 employees will need to have their workers vaccinated or tested weekly as a rule that the US Department of Labour will issue.

Covering about two-thirds or 100 million workers in the US, the vaccination speed will blunt the rapid spread of the virus in the country.