More than half of those who died of Covid since April were not vaccinated

A new report shows 53% of the 271 Covid-19 deaths between April 1 and September 18 occurred in unvaccinated people.

A further 17 people died from Covid-19 during the past week, bringing the total of virus-related deaths since March last year to 5,249, new data shows. 

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre also published a separate report which shows that 53% of the 271 Covid-19 deaths between April 1 and September 18 occurred in unvaccinated people, even though the percentage of the population who have not been vaccinated has fallen dramatically in that time.

A further 31% of the deaths were people who were fully vaccinated, and the remainder were people who were partially vaccinated, according to the HPSC.

Of the 271 people who died, 31% were considered ‘breakthrough vaccine’ cases, as they had received two doses 14 days or more before dying. The remainder were people who had received one dose of a vaccine and were not fully protected.

The HPSC said: “Eighty-four of those who died had an epidemiological date of Covid-19 infection 14 days or more after receiving all recommended doses of Covid-19 vaccine, therefore there are 84 breakthrough infections between April 1 and September 18, 2021.” 

These 84 people ranged in age from 54 to 97 and were mostly male. The data shows that 55 of them had an underlying health condition. The median age of the 84 breakthrough cases was 82.

Overall since March last year and regardless of vaccination status, the data shows Dublin witnessed the highest number of Covid-related deaths in the country, with 1,861 deaths recorded.

Across Munster, Cork is the worst affected with 447 people falling victim to the virus. Elsewhere, some 239 people died of Covid-19 in Limerick, 125 in Clare, 111 in Waterford, 105 in Tipperary, and 63 in Kerry.

The data shows of all the people who died since March last year, 557 (or 10.6%) were admitted to ICU, but 4,692 were not.

The HPSC now publishes Covid-19 deaths weekly. Data for the week to September 28 shows the mean age of those who died was 76. The number of healthcare workers who died from the virus remains at 18.

The HPSC also notes, contrary to concerns expressed about including in this count people who did not die from the virus, they say: “Persons with Covid-19 may die directly due to accidents.

"Such deaths are not due to Covid-19, and should not be certified as such.”