The government has said that media reports highlighting Excess Mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic in India in 2020 reported in the journal ‘Science Advances’ are based on untenable and unacceptable estimates. Union Health Ministry said that the study in the journal is erroneous and the methodology followed by the authors has critical flaws.

It added that the published claims are inconsistent and unexplainable. It also mentioned that there are discrepancies between the study’s findings and established COVID-19 mortality patterns which further undermine its credibility.