he current rationale is to vaccinate 7.9 billion people on earth to prevent 2.9 million deaths that have accumulated over a 15-month period (Jan. 2020 to March 2021), or 3.7 deaths among 10,000 who died with, but not necessarily of, COVID-19 coronavirus.  (Data: Worldometer)

COVID-19 deaths over-reported

However, those death figures are questionable.

When co-morbid conditions (age, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, largely occurring among very old individuals, many on their death beds) are removed, which represents 94% of deaths, only ~174,000 have died of COVID-19 alone, or 2 deaths per 100,000.

Even among non-co-morbid deaths, there may have been other respiratory viruses and mycobacteria (tuberculosis), estimated to be 11-35% of cases, that led to fatal outcomes, not solely COVID-19 by itself.