FOI Ref: ​FOI/2021/2819

You asked

Please supply the following information:

(1) Number of infections with Covid-19 by age group.

(2) Number of deaths within 28 days of a positive test of Covid-19.

(3) Number of recoveries from Covid-19 by age group.

We said

Thank you for your enquiry.

1)

The COVID-19 infection survey (CIS) is a household survey which refers to the number of current COVID-19 infections within the community population; community in this instance refers to private residential households and it excludes those in hospitals, care homes or other institutional settings.

In the England dataset accompanying our latest bulletin, you can find the modelled estimates for daily positives broken down by age group and school year of age on tab 1g and the 14 day weighted estimates for number of positives by age group on tab 1j. In the datasets for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, you can find the modelled daily positivity rates by single year of age on tabs 1e.

2)

Our and the Government Dashboard's COVID-19 deaths data are produced in different ways and have different purposes:

  • The daily COVID deaths counts reported on the government's COVID-19 dashboard provides numbers of COVID-19 deaths within 28 days of a first positive laboratory-confirmed test.

  • ONS weekly death registrations data for England and Wales, relate to the week that ended 11 days prior and are based on the cause of death reported on the death certificate, thereby not restricted to only deaths that showed a positive test.

  • The COVID-19 dashboard daily deaths figures provide a vital early indication of COVID-19 deaths that occur after a positive test.

There was a total of 607,922 deaths registered in England and Wales in 2020. Of these deaths 81,795 involved COVID-19, of which 73,766 were due to COVID-19. Deaths due to COVID-19, registered in England and Wales

Deaths involving and due to COVID-19 in 2021 can be found in the Deaths Registered Weekly publication, which is updated every Tuesday. On tab 2 Weekly figures by cause, 60,829 deaths involving COVID-19 have been registered as of 20August 2021, of which 53,073 were due to COVID-19.

Deaths "involving" a cause include all deaths where the cause was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate, as a main cause of death or a contributory cause. Deaths "due to" a cause is a subset of "involving", and only include deaths where the cause was the underlying (main) cause of death.

3)

Unfortunately, we do not hold information on COVID-19 recoveries.NHS Digital 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.

For further information and an overview of all the data published across the ONS, please check our ONS COVID Insights Tool.