Ever since the pandemic was allowed to take such a rapid hold in this country back in the first three months of 2020, I have been lamenting the failures of the neoliberal Tory government which has the responsibility for responding to the killer virus in our midst. As we edge closer and closer to the figure of 200,000 UK citizens with coronavirus identified as a cause of their death (as of 10 May 2020, the death toll stood at 193,713), I am relieved that at last the mortality statistics are showing a decline in numbers.
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| Vaccination, courtesy of the NHS, saved the day for us - and the Tory government |
Over the past couple of months, the National Office of Statistics (NOS) has been changing the way it presents its figures. They are appearing less often, for a start. The government was closing down the testing stations; the message was clear: the pandemic was nearing its end. When I go shopping in the
supermarket, I'm in the 10 per cent who are still wearing face masks. For the rest, the risk no longer exists. The government messaging has worked - and the hospitals are not being flooded with patients. On the contrary, the statistics show that the number of coronavirus cases being admitted and ending up on ventilation machines is falling. Only the number of people dying remained stubbornly high and now that figure is in decline too.
Cause for celebration, yes. Let's hope that the luck of the devil holds. The man in No.10 took the decision to lift all restrictions back in late January when most scientists and medical authorities were advising against doing so. But I remain anxious. I have too much respect for this virus not to be concerned. These men (and by and large it is men who are in power) have made their promises to protect the world from the virus - and broken their word. There will be a price to pay, most probably, in the form of a mutation that this time may be more lethal. Omicron originated in South Africa and was less lethal than Delta; still a killer virus, but less so. These so-called leaders are gambling with the lives of the global population of 7 billion people; they are the money-men. That's the way they tick. Profit before people's health.
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| Coronavirus medication - brilliant breakthroughs in the field of medicine - have helped save the day |
One question that I've been asking in my recent blogposts is this: who are these people who have been infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus and died? How old are they? Are they more BAME than Caucasian? What socio-economic grouping do they belong to? (See this link here, for more on this.) The latest NOS reports do now begin to give some answers, as you can see below:
Data on COVID-19 – 20 May 2022 - National Office of Statistics
Main points
- Avoidable deaths accounted
for 40.1% of all male deaths in the most deprived areas of England
compared with 17.8% in the least deprived areas in 2020; for female
deaths, it was 26.7% and 11.9%, respectively.
- Avoidable mortality rates in
2020 statistically significantly increased compared with 2019; this
increase was substantially greater for those living in the most deprived
areas.
- Avoidable mortality rates
due to coronavirus (COVID-19) were statistically significantly higher in
the most deprived areas compared with the least deprived areas.
- The Slope Index of
Inequality (SII) indicated that there were 479.4 additional deaths per
100,000 males and 275.3 additional deaths per 100,000 females living in
the most deprived areas compared with the least deprived areas.
- There was a statistically
significant increase in the SII in 2020 compared with 2019, indicating
inequality widened between the most and least deprived areas.
Statistician's
comment
“Today’s data shows those living in the most deprived areas have a
substantially higher rate of death from avoidable causes in 2020 than those
living in the least deprived areas; deaths due to COVID-19 and other causes
such as drugs and alcohol were notably higher in the most deprived areas.
The gap in avoidable mortality between the most and least deprived areas
widened to its highest level since 2004 for males, and highest since the data
began in 2001 for females. While deaths due to COVID-19 have widened this gap
in 2020, it is necessary to undertake further analysis to assess the influence
of the pandemic on the change in risk in other causes of avoidable death too
and how it impacts on the inequality in future years.”
Chris White, Head of Health Inequalities, at the Office for National
Statistics.
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In England, avoidable
mortality rates due to COVID-19 were significantly higher in the most deprived
areas compared with the least deprived areas in 2020. In the most deprived
areas, the rates were 95.1 deaths per 100,000 males and 53.3 deaths per 100,000
females. This compares with 21.9 for males and 9.4 for females in the least
deprived areas.
Last updated: 28/03/2022
In Wales, avoidable mortality
rates due to COVID-19 were significantly higher in the most deprived areas
compared with the least deprived areas in 2020. In the most deprived areas, the
rates were 91.3 deaths per 100,000 males and 53.6 deaths per 100,000 females.
This compares with 32.7 for males and 14.9 for females in the least deprived
areas.
Last updated: 28/03/2022
There were
836 deaths involving COVID-19 registered in the UK for the week ending 6 May
2022. This is a decrease from 1,248 deaths in the previous week (ending 29 April
2022); the first decrease after increasing over the past eight weeks. Of these,
690 were registered in England, 45 in Wales, 16 in Northern Ireland and 85 in
Scotland. Individual figures for England and Wales exclude deaths of
non-residents, therefore the sum may differ from the total UK figure.
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| SARS-CoV-2 - the deadly coronavirus |
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