FOI Reference: FOI/2021/2718
You asked
Please supply how many healthy children under 16 have died in Powys, Wales, from COVID-19.
We said
Thank you for your enquiry.
Our mortality data is based on the information collected at death registration. All the conditions mentioned on the death certificate are coded using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). 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 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.
COVID-19 is defined using one of the following ICD-10 codes:
U07.1 (COVID-19, virus identified)
U07.2 (COVID-19, virus not identified; COVID-19 stated to be unconfirmed or suspected).
U09.9 (Post-COVID condition, where the acute COVID had ended before the condition immediately causing death occurred)
U10.9 (Multisystem inflammatory syndrome associated with COVID-19 (also called Kawasaki-like syndrome), a specific, uncommon effect of COVID-19 in children).
We publish deaths 'due to' COVID-19 (where it was recorded as the underlying cause of death) and deaths 'involving' COVID-19 (where it was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate).
We can confirm that there were no deaths of children Under 16 years old, registered in Powys Local Authority in 2020, due to or involving COVID-19.
Provisional numbers of deaths involving COVID-19, registered in 2021, are available by local authority in our Deaths registered weekly in England and Wales publication. The dataset can be found here. This publication does not provide an age breakdown and unfortunately, we are unable to provide this information. At present, mortality data for 2021 are provisional and we do not offer bespoke tabulations of mortality data until death registrations for the latest year are finalised, which is around six months after the year end. The first release of finalised mortality statistics for 2021 will be published in the Deaths Registered (DR) Series in July 2022, with bespoke tabulations available on request thereafter.
Although a death certificate does not define whether the deceased was 'healthy' prior to their death, we do publish numbers of deaths involving COVID-19 by main pre-existing condition for England and Wales. These statistics are available in our Monthly mortality analysis, England and Wales publication. The dataset can be found here. We do not publish this information by local authority because data at such a granular level are potentially disclosive, neither is it available for 5-year age groups, or for those Under 16 specifically. Section 39 of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 (SRSA) renders it an offence to disclose information held by the Statistics Board for statistical purposes that would identify an individual or a body corporate. More information can be found in our disclosure control policy.
If you have any further queries, please contact Health.Data@ons.gov.uk.