Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the proportion of people who have died from covid-19 in the last 12 months who were unvaccinated.
Answered by Maggie Throup
No specific estimate has been made. However, the UK Health Security Agency publishes the numbers and rates of COVID-19 cases, hospitalisations and deaths by vaccination status by age for the most recent four-week period on a weekly basis. Between the week commencing 21 February 2022 and the week ending 20 March 2022, of 2,084 people who died within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test, 202 or approximately 10% were not vaccinated.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending registration of deaths by telephone following the expiration of the Coronavirus Act 2020.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Regulations have been introduced which will allow information to be collected by telephone before attendance at a register office to formally register a death.
The General Register Office for England and Wales is exploring options to bring forward amendments to primary legislation to allow for registration by telephone to be completed in the future.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of total recorded deaths of UK citizens who died while infected with the Omicron variant of covid-19, died primarily as a result of (a) that infection and (b) a different cause, to date.
Answered by Maggie Throup
This information is not held in the format requested. To 29 December 2021, there were 981 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant which were hospitalised and 75 deaths. As Omicron is now the dominant strain in England, as of 1 January 2022 these statistics are no longer reported separately.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many death certificates have recorded both covid-19 and underlying industrial disease since March 2020.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has taken steps to ensure that underlying industrial disease is recorded on the death certificates of former miners with respiratory conditions who die with covid-19.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to publicise the ongoing risk of covid-19 to immunocompromised groups to (a) patients with those conditions and (b) the wider public.
Answered by Maggie Throup
On 6 December we updated the online guidance ‘Coronavirus: how to stay safe and help prevent the spread’, which advises that immunocompromised individuals should take advice from their health professional on whether additional precautions are necessary to minimise their risk of infection.
On 1 September 2021, the Government accepted advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to offer a third primary dose of vaccine to individuals aged 12 years old and over with severe immunosuppression, as a precautionary measure. A specialist or clinician involved should advise on whether a patient fulfils the eligibility criteria for severe immunosuppression and on the timing of any third primary. NHS England and NHS Improvement have developed tailored communications for specialists caring for each group of eligible patients within the severely immunosuppressed cohort. This includes template referral letters for clinicians to signpost patients appropriately to receive this vaccination.
On 29 November 2021, in response to the emergence of the Omicron variant, the Government accepted advice from JCVI to offer a booster as a fourth dose to severely immunosuppressed individuals who have completed their primary course of three doses. NHS England and NHS Improvement is currently updating its guidance on the vaccination of these patients.
Immunocompromised individuals are also a priority cohort for therapeutic treatments, such as monoclonal antibody therapies and novel antivirals which reduce the risk of hospitalisations and deaths. These novel treatments may be used to treat immune-deficient and immune-suppressed people in the United Kingdom who are at an increased risk of illness and death after contracting COVID-19. We plan to make treatments directly available to the highest risk groups, including those who are immunocompromised.
We will continue to assess the risks posed by COVID-19 and take proportionate measures to protect immunocompromised individuals. We are ensuring that the risks and the measures taken are communicated effectively to those patients affected, their carers, clinicians and representative groups and the wider public.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of people who have died from COVID-19 related conditions at home since the beginning of the first lockdown in March 2020.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.
Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National Statistician
The Lord Chidgey
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
15 December 2021
Dear Lord Chidgey,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am replying to your Parliamentary Question asking what estimate has been made of the number of people who have died from COVID-19 related conditions at home since the beginning of the first lockdown in March 2020 (HL4828).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for publishing statistics on deaths registered in England and Wales. National Records Scotland (NRS) and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) are responsible for publishing the number of deaths registered in Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively. Mortality statistics are compiled from information supplied when deaths are certified and registered as part of civil registration.
Cause of death is defined using the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th edition (ICD-10). Deaths involving COVID-19 are defined by the ICD-10 codes U07.1, U07.2, U09.9 and U10.9.
Table 1 provides the total number of deaths registered and deaths involving COVID-19, in all locations and occurring in private homes, in England and Wales between 28 December 2019 and 26 November 2021. Deaths involving COVID-19 includes any death where COVID-19 was a contributory factor to death, not only as the underlying cause of death. These figures are included in our Deaths registered weekly in England and Wales release[1].
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
Table 1: Total number of deaths registered[1], and deaths registered involving COVID-19[2], occurring in all settings and private homes[3], between 28 December 2019 and 26 November 2021, England and Wales
Total deaths in all locations | Total deaths involving COVID-19[4] | Deaths occurring in private homes | Deaths occurring in private homes involving COVID-19 |
1,142,940 | 155,502 | 319,877 | 9,333 |
Source: Office for National Statistics
[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsregisteredweeklyinenglandandwalesprovisional/26november2021
[2] Figures are for deaths registered, rather than deaths occurring. More information can be found in the Impact of registrations delay release: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/articles/impactofregistrationdelaysonmortalitystatisticsinenglandandwales/latest
[3] Deaths "involving" a cause refer to deaths that had this cause mentioned anywhere on the death certificate, whether as an underlying cause or not.
[4] Deaths include non-residents.
[5]The International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Edition (ICD-10) definitions are as follows: COVID-19 (U07.1, U07.2, U09.9, U10.9).
Asked by: Lord Mendelsohn (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people who are immunocompromised or immunosuppressed have died due to COVID-19 in England since 2 September.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.
Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National Statistician
The Lord Mendelsohn
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
22 November 2021
Dear Lord Mendelsohn,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people who are immunocompromised or immunosuppressed have died due to COVID-19 in England since 2 September (HL4024).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes statistics on deaths registered in England and Wales. Mortality statistics are compiled from information supplied when deaths are certified and registered as part of civil registration. National Records for Scotland (1) and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (2) are responsible for publishing statistics on deaths registered in Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively.
The mortality statistics published by the ONS are based on the causes of death provided by the certifying doctor (or in some cases coroner). The death certificate lists only those health conditions or circumstances which led directly to the death or otherwise contributed to it but does not include any other health conditions the deceased suffered from if the certifier did not consider them relevant to the death. Immunosuppression can arise directly from a diagnosed health condition or from the side-effects of treatment, and there is no definitive list of causes of death linked to immunosuppression. Therefore, we are able to provide the number of deaths due to COVID-19 where certain health conditions commonly associated with immunosuppression were also mentioned on the death certificate, but this does not provide a comprehensive count of all deaths due to COVID-19 where immunosuppression might have been involved.
Table 1 shows the number of deaths registered due to COVID-19, where diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism were mentioned on the death certificate, in England and Wales between 2 September to 5 November 2021.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
Table 1: Number (3) of deaths (4) registered (5) due to COVID-19 where diseases (6) of the blood and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism (7) were mentioned on the death certificate, England and Wales, 2 September to 5 November 2021 (8).
Due to COVID-19 | Of which, diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism mentioned |
| 114 |
Source: Office for National Statistics
(1) https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/
(2) https://www.nisra.gov.uk/
(3) Figures are provisional.
(4) Deaths for England and Wales exclude non-residents.
(5) Based on date a death was registered rather than occurred.
(6) The International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Edition (ICD-10) definitions are as follows: coronavirus (COVID-19) (U.071, U.072, U.099, U.109) and Diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism (D50 to D89).
(7) Deaths where diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism were mentioned includes deaths that have these causes mentioned on the death certificate but not as the underlying cause of death.
(8) These figures are calculated using the most up-to-date data we have available to get the most accurate estimates.
Asked by: Lord Marlesford (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of those who died with COVID-19 in each of the last 20 weeks had received no vaccination against the disease.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.
Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National Statistician
Lord Marlesford
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
4 November 2021
Dear Lord Marlesford,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what percentage of those who died with COVID-19 in each of the last 20 weeks had received no vaccination against the disease (HL3492).
The data requested is provided, for England, in Table 1, using the most recent data we have available. Information on vaccination status is not included on the death certificate. It is obtained by linkage to the vaccination data from the National immunisation Management Service (NIMS) produced by NHS-E. While the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are responsible for the production of mortality data for England and Wales, we do not hold similar data for Wales. National Records Scotland (NRS) and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) are responsible for statistics pertaining to Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Please note that the numbers of deaths of unvaccinated persons will depend on the changing number of people who are unvaccinated and the changing characteristics of unvaccinated people, which vary due to the selective vaccination roll-out and differences in uptake.
To compare the risk of death in unvaccinated and fully vaccinated individuals, we advise using the age-standardised mortality rates (ASMRs) for deaths involving COVID-19 for unvaccinated persons and for other vaccination statuses in our publication “Deaths involving COVID-19 by vaccination status, England: deaths occurring between 2 January and 24 September 2021” [1]. These take into account the changing size and age structure of the populations with different vaccination status. This data is for England only and covers approximately 86% of all deaths.These ASMRs show that the risk of death involving COVID-19 is much lower in fully vaccinated than in unvaccinated people.
Please note, other factors such as the health of the people who are unvaccinated may differ from the vaccinated population and change over time, which will affect the age-standardised mortality rates.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy, when publishing daily figures for new fatalities after confirmation of covid-19 infection, to include a breakdown showing how many of them had been (a) unvaccinated, (b) partially vaccinated, and (c) fully vaccinated (i) with and (ii) without a classification of being clinically extremely vulnerable; and what additional steps he will take to provide data to the public advertising the role of vaccination in preventing deaths from covid-19 infection.
Answered by Maggie Throup
We have no plans to do so. However, weekly data on COVID-19 deaths by vaccination status is published in the UK Health Security Agency’s weekly COVID-19 vaccine surveillance report. This contains the latest data on vaccine effectiveness data against mortality and also contains estimates on the direct and indirect impact of the vaccination programme, including deaths averted up to 24 September 2021. The weekly reports are available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccine-weekly-surveillance-reports
The Department is working to ensure the public has access to information to allow an informed choice about vaccinations.