Disabled people made up 6 in 10 of all COVID-19 deaths last year, according to official data
30,296 out of 50,888 people who died from a 'death involving the coronavirus' for the period between the 24th January and the 20th November 2020 were disabled people, according to data published by the Office of National Statistics.
While disabled people made up 17.2% of the data population, they accounted for 59.5% of COVID-19 deaths.
This suggests 'that disabled people have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic', the release said.
The data used self-reporting of disability from the 2011 Census, alongside death registrations, and primary care and hospital records.
It found that the risk of death involving the coronavirus was:
- 3.1 times greater for 'more-disabled' men (those who said in the Census that their daily activities were "limited a lot")
- 1.9 times greater for 'less-disabled' men (those who said in the Census that their daily activities were "limited a little"
- 3.5 times greater for 'more-disabled' women
- 2.0 times greater for 'less-disabled' women
The release by the ONS added:
an important part of the raised risk is because disabled people are disproportionately exposed to a range of generally disadvantageous circumstances compared with non-disabled people.
When looking at those with a diagnosed learning disability, the risk of death involving the coronavirus was 3.7 times greater for both men and women, when compared with individuals without a learning disability.
While factors such as socio-economic circumstances and pre-existing health conditions played a part in the increased risk for disabled people, the release stated:
the largest effect was associated with living in a care home or other communal establishment.
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