It’s difficult to know exactly how deadly COVID-19 is, but as the World Health Organization has written, studies estimate that the infection fatality ratio, or percentage of deaths out of all infections, is between 0.5% and 1%. The true rate isn’t clear, since the pandemic is ongoing and not all infections have been diagnosed.
The observed case fatality rate, or percentage of deaths out of confirmed cases, was 1.2% in the United States as of April 6, 2022.
An individual’s risk of death may be significantly higher or lower than what these numbers suggest, depending on a person’s age or health conditions.