Excess deaths continue to soar despite Covid deaths decreasing

Excess deaths in the UK have continued to soar, as Covid deaths decreased for fourth week in a row, the latest data shows.

A total of 10,942 deaths from all causes were registered in England and Wales in the week to 26 August, according to the Office for National Statistics.

This is 16.6%above the five-year average, the equivalent of 1,556 “excess deaths” during this week.

However, new figures show a continued downward trend in deaths involving Covid-19, which have fallen to the lowest level since the beginning of July.

A total of 453 deaths registered in the seven days to August 26 mentioned coronavirus on the death certificate, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) – down 18 per cent on the previous week.

Stuart Macdonald, from the Covid-19 actuaries’ response group, wrote: “There have been around 5,300 deaths with Covid-19 mentioned on the death certificate in the last ten weeks. Covid was the underlying cause for 3,400 of these and may also have contributed to others. Since Covid does not explain all the recent excess we need to look at other causes.”

Mr Macdonald outlined a number of potential drivers of excess deaths which included increased risk of heart failure in people following Covid-19 infection, delays for urgent treatment within the NHS and missed or delayed diagnoses earlier in the pandemic.

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Source: The Independent, 6 September 2022