FOI Ref: FOI/2021/3074

You asked

​Please supply details of how many people died in the months June through to September within 28 days of a positive covid 19 test, please provide this information along side the figure of those that died within 28 days of a covid 19 vaccination for the same period. ​

We said

​Thank you for your request.

The mortality data published by us are derived from the formal process of death registration. Our mortality data shows deaths from COVID-19 which may include cases where the doctor completing the death certificate diagnosed possible cases of COVID-19, for example, where this was based on relevant symptoms but no test for the virus was conducted. These statistics are different from the mortality figures published on the government's COVID-19 dashboard, which shows 'deaths within 28 days of a positive test'.

Deaths from COVID-19 for June to September - England and Wales

We have published analysis for deaths where COVID-19 was listed as the underlying cause or a contributing factor (mentions). Please see rows 18-20 of the 'weekly figures by cause' table of our weekly deaths dataset. This weekly data is available for deaths that were registered up to week ending 15 October 2021.

Deaths involving COVID-19 after vaccination

Our vaccination statistics are produced from a methodology where deaths occurred within 21 days of receiving a vaccine. This differs from the statistics published by UK Health Security Agency (formerly Public Health England) whose statistics are based on 28 days from vaccination. If you have any queries on their statistics, they can be contacted via email at enquiries@ukhsa.gov.uk.

For deaths involving COVID-19 or all cause deaths after receipt of the COVID-19 vaccination, we hold the following analysis Deaths by vaccination status, England which is an analysis of deaths involving COVID-19 by vaccination status that occurred between 1 January and 24 September 2021 in England.

This publication includes weekly age standardised mortality rates for deaths involving COVID-19 by vaccination status and a detailed analysis of deaths involving COVID-19 which occurred in fully vaccinated individuals. This dataset was produced through complex linking of census data to vaccination data held by NHS. A weekly breakdown by vaccination status for deaths involving COVID-19 is available in table 1.

If you would like to discuss this query further, please contact health.data@ons.gov.uk.