Childhood deaths and hospitalisations from 2016-2020 by specific causes

FOI Ref: FOI/2021/3199

You asked

Please supply the following information:

• The annual number of deaths from 2016 -- 2020 for childhood illnesses including flu (directly from flu not flu & Pneumonia), measles, varicella (chickenpox), mumps, rubella, and whooping cough. And the number of covid deaths in children in 2020 and 2021.  From years 0 to 18 years old.

• The annual number of hospitalisations from 2016 -- 2020 for childhood illnesses including flu (directly from flu not flu & Pneumonia), measles, varicella (chickenpox), mumps, rubella, and whooping cough.  And the number of covid hospitalisations in children in 2020 and 2021.  From years 0 to 18 years old

We said

Thank you for your enquiry regarding childhood deaths and hospitalisations from 2016-2020 by specific causes.

Deaths by specific cause and age group

All of the conditions mentioned on the death certificate are coded using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) the coded mortality data available up to end of December 2019 is coded to version 2014 of the ICD10 framework. From all of these causes an underlying cause of death is selected using ICD-10 coding rules. The underlying cause of death is defined by World Health Organisation (WHO) as:

a) the disease or injury that initiated the train of events directly leading to death, or

b) the circumstances of the accident or violence that produced the fatal injury

The following ICD-10 codes are used:

• Influenza - J09 - J11
• Measles - B05
• Varicella B01
• Mumps B26
• Rubella - B06
• Whooping Cough - A37
• COVID - U07.1 and U07.2

Please see the accompanying download named 'FOI3199_NOMIS' report from our NOMIS webservice. This provides deaths for 0--19 year olds, in 5 year age bands for the above ICD-10 codes in England and Wales (including non-residents).

Unfortunately, we do not hold analysis of the data with the exact age groups requested.

If the NOMIS output does not meet your needs, we can create this data as a bespoke request for you. Special extracts and tabulations of mortality data for England and Wales are available to order (subject to legal frameworks, disclosure control, resources and agreements of costs, where appropriate).

These enquiries fall outside of the Freedom of Information regime and should be made to: Health.Data@ons.gov.uk.

We hold raw data regarding hospitalisations for COVID-19 however, to create this dataset requires complex data linkage and analysis. In order to fulfil this request, we would need to create a bespoke analysis or table. Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, Public Authorities are not obligated to create information in order to respond to requests. We therefore consider this to be information not held.

Unfortunately, we do not hold hospital admissions for Influenza, Measles, Varicella, Mumps, Rubella and Whooping Cough. This data is held by NHS Digital, so they may be better placed to answer your query. They can be contacted via email at enquiries@nhsdigital.nhs.uk, and by telephone at 0300 303 5678.

If you require any further assistance please do not hesitate to get in touch with Health.Data@ons.gov.uk.