coronavirus first gained international attention, politics has muddied the answer.The two main agencies tracking the virus, the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization, have access to the same raw data, yet disagree on the interpretation for determining the IFR, or infection fatality rate.
To calculate IFR, scientists consider not only known infections, but also computer modelling to estimate undiagnosed and asymptomatic cases.“We won’t know the true fatality of this disease until it is all said and done,” says University of Ottawa epidemiologist Dr.
Raywat Deonandan.In January, the WHO predicted COVID-19’s IFR would be 3.4 per cent, meaning three or four people out of every 100 infected would die.