There is a lot of conflicting info out there… How deadly is COVID-19, really?
The most recent and best estimate of the infection-fatality risk (IFR) of COVID-19 is 1.45%. In other words, 1.45% (or 1 in 69) of all those infected with the disease (not just those with symptoms or those that have received positive test results) do not survive. As expected, fatality risk significantly increases with age.
The IFR is different than the case-fatality rate, which considers only confirmed cases in the calculation. When including only those that test positive, the mortality rate appears much higher. For example, Pennsylvania’s current case-fatality rate is about 7.25% (6904 total deaths/95,266 total cases reported as of 7/12/20). The IFR provides a more accurate measure since it estimates and takes into account all infections.
The following infographic shows the estimated IFR as calculated by epidemiologists at Columbia University.