UK: Twice as many died with Covid this summer compared with 2021

This summer has seen twice as many deaths involving Covid in the UK compared with last summer, according to the BBC. Since 8 June, over 5,700 Covid deaths have been registered - this is 95% higher than the same period last year.

Throughout the pandemic, deaths associated with Covid have been highest among older age groups. Over-85s have recorded the highest increase in the death rate, it is 180% higher this summer than last year’s.

While the overall number of deaths of people with Covid remains far below last year, cases saw a sharp rise in June as the more transmissible Omicron subvariants, BA.4 and BA.5, become dominant. Luckily, the numbers are starting to see a decline. A total of 674 Covid related deaths were registered in the country in the week of 12 August, down from 802 a week earlier and 924 the previous week.

“We will see fewer deaths in August this year than last,” said Prof Paul Hunter, a professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia. “I suspect that over the next three months we shall see [that Covid] deaths [are] a lot lower than last year and probably that will remain the case for the entire winter.”

Image from The Guardian