Far worse than “just a bad flu”

Coronavirus is claiming many more lives than flu has for years

THERE have been more than three times as many deaths from Covid-19 as there have been from flu and pneumonia this year. New figures from the Office for National Statistics have revealed that between January and August, 14,013 people died from flu and pneumonia.

The ONS count “influenza and pneumonia” together because many cases of pneumonia are in fact caused by influenza.

That compares to 48,168 people who have been killed by coronavirus so far - more than flu and pneumonia have killed during the first eight months of any year since at least 1959.

That was the first time that monthly deaths were recorded - but annual figures going back further show that Covid-19 has been more deadly so far than flu and pneumonia can be in an entire year.

One exception to that was 1918 - the year of the “Spanish flu” pandemic - when there were 172,149 deaths due to influenza and pneumonia.

However, coronavirus has already eclipsed other influenza pandemics, including the “Asian flu” of 1957 (when 29,788 died) and the “Hong Kong flu” of 1969 (46,966).

The number of deaths due to influenza and pneumonia has fluctuated over time, but has been stable since 2001 - after widespread flu vaccination was introduced in 2000.

Rates of death are much higher for Covid-19 than for flu and pneumonia across all age groups - but those aged 85 and over are particularly affected.

With nearly half of all coronavirus deaths occurring in this age bracket (20,493 in total), that works out as 2,051 deaths for every 100,000 people aged 85 and over.

In comparison, 5,093 people under the aged of 65 have died from the virus - 16 deaths for every 100,000 people.

However, because people aged 85 and over are also more susceptible to flu and pneumonia, the gap between deaths from those illnesses and Covid-19 isn’t as big as it is for other groups.

The rate of death was nearly two and a half times higher for coronavirus as it was for flu and pneumonia among those aged 85 and up.

That rose to more than four times higher for those aged 80-84, and more than five times higher for those aged 75-79, 70-74 and under 65.

The biggest gap was among those aged 65-69, at five and a half times greater.

The figures also show that people who die from coronavirus are twice as likely to die in a care home as those who die from flu and pneumonia.

While 15% of flu and pneumonia deaths occured in care homes, nearly 30% of Covid-19 deaths happened in these settings.