The document contains information on COVID-19 cases, hospitalisations and deaths in England between Aug. 23 and Sept 19, 2021.
Indeed, of 1,521 over-80s who died from COVID-19 during this time, 1,272 were fully vaccinated, the data shows. Forty-three had received one vaccine dose, while 198 were unvaccinated. Meanwhile, 607 out of 801 70 to 79-year-olds who died from COVID-19 had received two vaccine doses (164 hadn’t been vaccinated) and of 411 60- to 69-year-olds, 258 were fully vaccinated (125 were unvaccinated).
However, the numbers alone miss the context necessary to understand the impact of COVID-19 vaccines. This data does not show that people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are more likely to die from the virus.
When much of a population has been vaccinated, most infections and deaths are “expected to be among those vaccinated”, Dr Muge Cevik, a clinical lecturer in infectious diseases and medical virology at the University of St Andrews, previously told Reuters (
here).
On Sept. 19, 64.9% of over-16s in England had received one vaccine dose, with 59.5% having also received the second, according to the document.
When adjusted proportionally to display the rate per 100,000 people in all age groups, the number of COVID-19 deaths is higher in the unvaccinated population than in the vaccinated population, the data shows.
For the over-80s, the rate of death per 100,000 unvaccinated was 156. For those vaccinated, it was 49.5.
For those aged 70-79, the rate of death was more than five times higher in those who are unvaccinated.
Meanwhile, the rate of death for unvaccinated 60- to 69-year-olds was 66.4 out of 100,000 in comparison to 13.1 for those who are vaccinated.
This shows that, proportionally, fewer people died from COVID-19 who had been fully vaccinated.
