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<p>The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.</p><p>Professor Sir Ian Diamond
| National Statistician</p><p><strong><strong> </strong></strong></p><p>The Lord Mendelsohn</p><p>House
of Lords</p><p>London</p><p>SW1A 0PW</p><p>22 November 2021</p><p> </p><p>Dear Lord
Mendelsohn,</p><p><strong><strong> </strong></strong></p><p>As National Statistician
and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary
Question asking how many people who are immunocompromised or immunosuppressed have
died due to COVID-19 in England since 2 September (HL4024).</p><p><strong><strong>
</strong></strong></p><p>The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes statistics
on deaths registered in England and Wales. Mortality statistics are compiled from
information supplied when deaths are certified and registered as part of civil registration.
National Records for Scotland <em>(1) </em>and the Northern Ireland Statistics and
Research Agency <em>(2)</em> are responsible for publishing statistics on deaths registered
in Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively.</p><p><strong><strong> </strong></strong></p><p>The
mortality statistics published by the ONS are based on the causes of death provided
by the certifying doctor (or in some cases coroner). The death certificate lists only
those health conditions or circumstances which led directly to the death or otherwise
contributed to it but does not include any other health conditions the deceased suffered
from if the certifier did not consider them relevant to the death. Immunosuppression
can arise directly from a diagnosed health condition or from the side-effects of treatment,
and there is no definitive list of causes of death linked to immunosuppression. Therefore,
we are able to provide the number of deaths due to COVID-19 where certain health conditions
commonly associated with immunosuppression were also mentioned on the death certificate,
but this does not provide a comprehensive count of all deaths due to COVID-19 where
immunosuppression might have been involved.</p><p><strong><strong> </strong></strong></p><p>Table
1 shows the number of deaths registered due to COVID-19, where diseases of the blood
and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism were
mentioned on the death certificate, in England and Wales between 2 September to 5
November 2021.</p><p><strong><strong> </strong></strong></p><p>Yours sincerely,</p><p><strong><strong>
</strong></strong></p><p /> <p><strong><strong> </strong></strong></p><p>Professor
Sir Ian Diamond</p><p>Table 1: Number <em>(3)</em> of deaths <em>(4)</em> registered
<em>(5)</em> due to COVID-19 where diseases <em>(6)</em> of the blood and blood-forming
organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism <em>(7)</em> were mentioned
on the death certificate, England and Wales, 2 September to 5 November 2021 <em>(8).</em></p><p><strong><strong>
</strong></strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Due to COVID-19</p></td><td><p>Of which,
diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the
immune mechanism mentioned</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><br> 6,686</p></td><td><p>114</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong><strong>
</strong></strong></p><p>Source: Office for National Statistics</p><p><strong><strong></strong><br></strong></p><p><em>(1)
https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/</em></p><p><em>(2) https://www.nisra.gov.uk/</em></p><p><em>(3)
Figures are provisional.</em></p><p><em>(4) Deaths for England and Wales exclude non-residents.</em></p><p><em>(5)
Based on date a death was registered rather than occurred.</em></p><p><em>(6) The
International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Edition (ICD-10) definitions are as
follows: coronavirus (COVID-19) (U.071, U.072, U.099, U.109) and Diseases of the blood
and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism (D50
to D89).</em></p><p><em>(7) Deaths where diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs
and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism were mentioned includes deaths
that have these causes mentioned on the death certificate but not as the underlying
cause of death.</em></p><p><em>(8) These figures are calculated using the most up-to-date
data we have available to get the most accurate estimates.</em></p><p> </p>
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