By Gabriel Princewill-
The Office Of National Statistics has reported that overall deaths this winter has fallen below last year, and have highlighted that over 175,000 deaths have occurred involving Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic.
The lower death rate this year than last year is believed to be due to the less deadly but more transmissible omicron variant which has gave more of its sufferers a higher chance of survival this winter than the one before, medics estimate.
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An absence of credible figures on hospitalization rates as a result of the omicron virus this winter could further explain the lower deaths after it was revealed that a majority of hospitalization statistics highlighted in the media in the last few months was connected to increased Covid-19 testing, and the fact many patients caught the virus in hospital.
The true impact of the omicron virus itself has not fully been established , but the ONS today distanced itself from any manipulation of Covid-19 figures, stressing that it has the ‘golden standard’, and that they conduct periodic analysis of deaths stated to have arisen predominantly from Covid-19 , and those that have been highly influenced by other causes.
The ONS admitted that its figures of overall deaths includes deaths where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate since March 2020, and puts the total figure at 176,035. The figure differs significantly from the government’s official count which requires patients to have had a positive test within 28 days of their death.
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Representatives of the ONS told this publication that its statistics includes a breakdown of causes of death for various months, emphasizing their reliance on the evidence provided by doctors.
Health conditions are recorded on the death certificates of Covid patients only if the certifying doctor or coroner believed the conditions were a contributing factor to the death, directly or indirectly, the ONS said. Notably, the death certificate does not include all health conditions from which the deceased might have suffered, if the associated medical doctor did not consider it relevant.
The ONS also emphasized that the fact that a pre-existing condition was recorded does not suggest that the deceased was likely to have died from that condition in the absence of the COVID-19 infection.
Only specific detailed facts about some deaths involving other factors will ascertain the cause of their death.
The ONS additionally revealed that its definition of COVID-19 , irrespective of other potential causative factors includes some cases where the certifying doctor suspected the death involved COVID-19 but was not certain. They added that suspected covid-19 was written on some Covid-19 certificates . The grounds on which doctors base their suspicion of covid-19 is often based on symptoms in the patient before they became deceased.
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