A new mathematical model suggests that as few as 1 in 5 COVID cases were counted globally. According to mathematical models, as few as one in every five instances of COVID-19 that occurred during the first 29 months of the pandemic are accounted for in the half billion cases officially recorded.
accuracy
A dearth of information and inconsistency in reporting cases has been a major problem with getting a true picture of the impact of the pandemic, Rao says. “You have to know the true burden on patients and their families, on hospitals and caregivers, on the economy and the government,” Rao says. More accurate numbers also help in assessing indirect implications like the underdiagnosis of potentially long-term neurological and mental disorders that are now known to be directly associated with infection, he says.
Other contributors to underreporting include the reality that everyone who has gotten COVID-19 has not been tested. Also, a significant percentage of people, even vaccinated and boosted individuals, are getting infected more than once, and may only go to the doctor for PCR resting the first time and potentially use at-home tests or even no test for subsequent illnesses.