Care home residents have a five-fold increased risk of death from Covid-19, new analysis suggests.
More needs to be done to consider those at highest risk from death from Covid-19 during the second peak of the virus, researchers said.
Experts analysed the death rates from the first peak of the crisis and pinpointed certain groups at higher risk.
Men, black people, the elderly, those with learning disabilities and people who live in “multi-occupancy dwellings” are at highest risk, according to the analysis.
Researchers from the University of Oxford examined mortality rates in 2019 compared to 2020.
They found that compared with 2019, those living in a household with nine or more people – usually those living in nursing or care homes – had a fivefold increased risk of death.
There have been 15,671 care home deaths attributed to Covid-19 so far in England and Wales, according to official statistics.
The authors wrote in the British Journal of General Practice: “The first Sars-CoV-2 peak in England has been associated with excess mortality.
“Planning for subsequent peaks needs to better manage risk in males, those of black ethnicity, older people, people with learning disabilities, and people who live in multi-occupancy dwellings.”
They added: “Large household size, including communal establishments was strongly associated with a higher hazard of mortality in 2020 compared to 2019.”
