The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics have debunked the myth that coronavirus is less deadly than the flu once and for all.
According to the stats there have been just 394 deaths caused by the flu so far this year, compared to more than 48,000 from coronavirus.
Covid-19 accounted for 12.4 per cent of all deaths recorded between January and August this year, the ONS said, compared to flu which accounted for 0.1 per cent.
The proportion of deaths occurring in care homes due to Covid-19 was also nearly double the proportion of deaths due to flu and pneumonia.
Sarah Caul, head of mortality analysis at the ONS, said: “More than three times as many deaths were recorded between January and August this year where Covid-19 was the underlying cause compared to influenza and pneumonia.
“The mortality rate for COVID-19 is also significantly higher than influenza and pneumonia rates for both 2020 and the five-year average.
“Since 1959, which is when ONS monthly death records began, the number of deaths due to influenza and pneumonia in the first eight months of every year have been lower than the number of Covid-19 deaths seen, so far, in 2020.”
The data shows there were more deaths due to flu or pneumonia in women, however deaths due to Covid-19 were 23.7 per cent higher in men.
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