Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the vulnerability of people aged between 70 and 80 without underlying health conditions to the impact of COVID-19; and how this compares to the vulnerability of someone aged 40 with underlying health problems including (1) diabetes, (2) heart disease, or lung disease.

Public Health England (PHE) led a rapid review to better understand how a number of different factors can impact on how people are affected by COVID-19. This included an analysis of age, sex (male and female), deprivation, geography, ethnicity, and other factors, where surveillance data was available to PHE.

The review found that among people with a positive test, those who were 80 or older were 70 times more likely to die, compared with those under 40. These were the largest disparities found in this analysis and are consistent with what has been previously reported in the United Kingdom.

No comparisons have been made between the vulnerability of someone aged between 70 and 80 and someone aged 40 with underlying health problems to the impact of COVID-19.

Some analyses outlined in the review are provisional and will continue to be improved. Further work is planned to obtain, link and analyse data that will complement these analyses.

A copy of PHE’s report Disparities in the risk and outcomes of COVID-19 is attached.