Data comparing Covid-19 to the flu shows four times as many deaths were directly caused by Coronavirus than influenza and pneumonia since the pandemic began.
But the flu and pneumonia were mentioned as contributory factors on more death certificates than Covid-19 during the same period, the ONS' 'How coronavirus compares with flu as a cause of death' report shows.
And the number of deaths where Covid-19 was listed as the main cause has fallen more in line with flu and pneumonia in later stages of the pandemic.
Read more: Two new Omicron Covid variants 'of concern'
The ONS says it can not say "for certain" if Covid-19 is starting to behave more like the flu, but say the figures allow us to view coronavirus in context.
Does Covid-19 kill more people than the flu?
Since the pandemic began in March 2020, Covid-19 has been listed as the main cause of death in more than four times as many death certificates as flu and pneumonia in England and Wales. In contrast, more death certificates list flu and pneumonia as a "contributory factor" than do for Coronavirus.
In a nutshell, more died "due to" Covid, but more died "with" flu or pneumonia.
The ONS says: "There were 148,606 deaths where Covid-19 was identified as the underlying cause of death in England and Wales between the weeks ending 13 March 2020 and 1 April 2022, compared with 35,007 deaths due to flu and pneumonia.
While Covid-19 is mentioned on fewer death certificates than flu and pneumonia, it is far more likely to be listed as the underlying cause of death.
In contrast, there were 170,600 deaths, where Covid-19 was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate as a cause or contributory factor, compared to 219,207 deaths involving flu and pneumonia.
So, going off the data, Covid-19 has been the direct cause of more deaths, but flu and pneumonia potentially played a part in more fatalities.
The number of deaths caused by Covid-19 was 73,766 in the UK in 2020 and 67,258 in 2021. Between March 2020 and April 1, 2022, flu and pneumonia were listed as the direct cause of 35,007 deaths. That means Covid-19 has been the direct cause of four times as many deaths as flu and pneumonia.
The study's authors admit it's not easy or directly compare coronavirus with the traditional flu. Some are vaccinated against one and not the other. Lockdown and social distancing have also affected how the viruses can spread.
They write: "Directly comparing Covid-19 deaths with those from flu and pneumonia has limitations. For example, death certificates likely underestimate flu deaths because not all patients are tested for it, and circulating flu causes increases in deaths due to other conditions such as cardiovascular diseases."
Is Covid becoming like flu?
The study is clear that they can yet say if Covid-19 is adapting to behave more like the flu. Data shows that the number of deaths with Covid listed as the underlying cause fell in winter 2021/22 compared to winter 2020/21. But deaths caused directly by Covid-19 still dwarfed mortalities with flu or pneumonia listed as the underlying cause.
The report states: "In the latest winter (December 2021 to March 2022), the number of deaths with Covid-19 as the underlying cause has fallen more in line with those due to flu and pneumonia in pre-coronavirus pandemic years.
"The number of deaths due to Covid-19 is still double that of those due to flu and pneumonia in the same period, as there have been considerably fewer deaths due to flu and pneumonia over the last two winters."
In summary, the report's authors say: "Deaths due to Covid-19 have been much lower in recent months than earlier in the pandemic. However, while we can use deaths from flu and pneumonia to put Covid-19 into context, we cannot say for certain whether the two conditions are behaving, or will behave, in similar ways in the future."
READ NEXT:
