Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, death rate trends on the Isle of Wight have been consistent with the rest of England, and have shown, as expected, higher rates of mortality due to Covid-19.
Official data from the Office of National Statistics show that in 2020 there were 190 more deaths than in 2019 (see the figures below). Isle of Wight Public Health tell News OnTheWight that the majority of the excess mortality is attributable to Covid-19.
“What happened to deaths due to Influenza?”
Anyone who uses social media will have seen a great deal of debate about Covid over the last two years.
A regular comment about half way through the pandemic that came up a lot was ‘what about deaths from influenza?’.
Some people suggested that influenza deaths were being hidden away in the data about deaths due to Covid.
Zero deaths with Influenza as the underlying cause
Analysis of the data held by the Office of National Statistics shows that in fact there have been zero deaths on the Isle of Wight in the last six years where influenza was the underlying cause.
For anyone choosing to do their own research, the code on the Nomis Website to search for ‘influenza as the underlying cause of death’ is J09-J11.
Increased deaths
Death registrations sourced from the Office of National Statistics, for all ages and all sexes, for the calendar years 2015 to 2020 show the fluctuation of deaths over the last six years on the Isle of Wight.
- 2015 – 1,759
- 2016 – 1,760
- 2017 – 1,840
- 2018 – 1,817
- 2019 – 1,774
- 2020 – 1,964
It should be noted that these are registered deaths and due to the lag in registration processes, some deaths that occurred in 2019 would have been registered in 2020. Also, the absolute number of deaths registered does not account for any changes in the population size or structure on the Island over time.
Latest Covid death figures
According to the Government’s Covid dashboard, as of 31st December (the data has a lag of about two weeks) there have been 362 deaths on the Isle of Wight where Covid-19 is mentioned as a cause of death on the death certificate.
News OnTheWight publishes a weekly roundup every Tuesday morning (a day later if after a bank holiday) of all Covid-related figures.
Image: hinkelstone under CC BY 2.0
