Although the total number of Covid deaths in 2022 remains well below last year, the summer months have reversed this trend. However, more than 5,700 Covid deaths have been recorded since June 8, when the two Omicron subvariables became dominant. This is 95% higher than the same time last year, when there were 2,936 deaths from Covid across the UK. However, the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also show that deaths caused by the latest wave of Covid – fueled by two more contagious Omicron subvariables – BA.4 and BA.5 – which became dominant in early June – is now in decline. A total of 674 deaths from Covid were recorded in the UK in the week to August 12, up from 802 the previous week and 924 the week before. More than twice as many deaths from Covid were recorded between 1 January and 12 August 2021 than in the same period this year: 65,000 deaths by 12 August 2021 – due to rising numbers caused by the Alpha variant – compared to 28,303 in the same period this year year. Professor Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, said the “extent of infections associated with the BA.5 wave” suggested an increase in the number of deaths this summer compared to last. Graph of deaths from Covid “But we will see fewer deaths this August than last year,” he added. “I suspect within the next three months we will see [that Covid] deaths [are] much lower than last year and will likely remain so throughout the winter.” The fact that more people are dying this summer than last year is more pronounced in older age groups, a trend that has been consistent throughout the Covid pandemic. Almost half of the deaths recorded this summer in England and Wales were among people aged 85 and over compared to 27% of deaths in 2021. Deaths from Covid have been highest among the elderly throughout the pandemic, but the over-85s saw the biggest increase in the death rate, which is 180% higher this summer than in summer 2021 . Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The number of deaths between 75 and 84 has also increased: there were 77% more deaths in this age group this summer compared to last. However, there have been fewer deaths from Covid among the under-65s, with the death rate falling by around 58% in the summer of 2022. Wales and the east and south west of England recorded the biggest increase in Covid deaths with more than three times as many deaths in each of these areas in the summer so far this year compared to the same period in 2021. Only one region – the North West – saw the number of Covid deaths fall marginally compared to the same period last year. Covid was the sixth leading cause of death in July in England and Wales, the ONS’s latest monthly analysis of age-specific death rates shows. However, last July, Covid was the ninth leading cause of death in England and ranked 22nd in Wales.
