Unvaccinated Britons 32 times more likely to die with Covid, ONS data suggests

Statisticians find mortality rates consistently lower in those who are fully vaccinated

Unvaccinated people are 32 times more likely to die with coronavirus than those who have had the jab, new data from the Office of National Statistics suggests.

Statisticians analysed deaths involving coronavirus in England between 2 January and 24 September this year, adjusting their findings to accommodate for age.

Age-standardised mortality rates allow researchers to take into account the differences in age and population size to allow them to fairly compare different vaccination groups.

They found that mortality rates were consistently lower for people who had received two vaccinations, compared with those who had received none or one vaccination.

The mortality rate was 849.7 out of 100,000 for people who were unvaccinated. This was compared to 26.2 out of 100,000 for people who had received a second vaccine dose.

4,479 people who had received both vaccines died with coronavirus from January to September - with more than 3,200 of these deaths happening in August and September. However 34,474 unvaccinated people have died with coronavirus since January, ONS data showed.

Over 10,000 additional deaths were recorded among people who had been given a single jab - 3,880 within three weeks of receiving a dose and 6,663 after more than 21 days.

Last week, Imperial College London found that fully vaccinated people can contract and pass on coronavirus in the home but at lower rates than unvaccinated people.

Their analysis found that around 25 per cent of vaccinated household contacts tested positive for coronavirus compared with roughly 38 per cent of unvaccinated household contacts.

Fully vaccinated people also cleared the infection more quickly than those who are unvaccinated, but their peak viral load - the greatest amount of coronavirus found in their nose and throat - was similar to that seen in unvaccinated people, Imperial College London said.

The Department of Health is trying to ramp up the vaccine booster programme ahead of winter amid concerns that the population has declining immunity to coronavirus.

Anyone eligible for a Covid booster vaccination can now get their third jab without booking by heading to an NHS walk-in centre.

According to the latest government data, 86.9 per cent of the population have had their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine. 79.5 per cent have had their second dose and 13.8 per cent have had a booster or third dose.

This article was amended on 10 November 2021. A graph issued on social media by the ONS referred to a mortality rate of 849.7 unvaccinated people per 1,000 population, but this was incorrect and should have said 849.7 per 100,000 people.