Coronavirus

Improving our estimate of businesses’ outgoings during the COVID-19 pandemic

Image of the City of London

The ONS has published updated and indicative estimates of GDP, which show that the economy was larger than we previously thought in 2020 and 2021, though our estimate for the UK’s monthly and quarterly economic trends is broadly unchanged. Craig McLaren explains what’s led to this brighter picture.   

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Assessing the benefits and risks of vaccinations in young people 

Stock vaccine image

Since the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign, it has been vital to monitor the impact of vaccinations on mortality. As with any vaccine, this includes assessing the protection the vaccine offers against infection and severe outcomes, but also measuring the potential side effects and adverse events. The balance of risk and benefit becomes particularly important in groups where the likelihood of severe outcomes from COVID-19 is lower, as in younger people. Here, Charlotte Bermingham discusses new ONS analysis on vaccine safety in the context of young people.  

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How many people have had COVID-19? The challenge of reinfections

Since the appearance of Omicron variants in December 2021, the number of people being reinfected with COVID-19 has increased markedly. As Leanne Massie explains, this affects our ability to estimate the total number of people who have had COVID-19 at least once.

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How do we measure expected and excess deaths?

Close up image of death certificate

There has been widespread interest in the number of excess deaths across the UK. That is, the difference between the actual number of deaths observed and the number that was expected. But how do you calculate the expected number of deaths? Sarah Caul explains a new cross-UK initiative to take stock of how we calculate expected, and excess, deaths.  

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