ELDERLY people "should be shielded from the coronavirus" and younger generations "should be able to get on with life", experts say.
Data analysed by experts at the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (CEBM) has revealed that the average age of deaths from the coronavirus is 82.4 years.
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It comes after a Whitehall source revealed that the government are "mulling over" plans to once again shield hundreds of thousands of vulnerable Brits.
The government could advise clinically vulnerable people to shield as part of the top tier of a streamlined Covid lockdown system set to be announced next week.
Some 2.2 million Brits deemed “extremely vulnerable” were advised to not to leave home and avoid all contact with others at the beginning of lockdown in late March.
But studies have since laid bare the devastating mental health impact of the policy – with depression and anxiety twice as common among the shielded than the rest of the population.
Analysis by the Oxford experts at the CEBM was compiled from data provided by the Office for Nation Statistics (ONS).
It shows that the average age of people dying in England and Wales from Covid-19 is 82.4.
This is slightly higher than deaths caused by other illnesses, which has a median age of 81.5.
We need to get people back to work and get rid of these ridiculous, unenforceable rules
This comes as it was revealed that 1.5 million cancer procedures were cancelled during the pandemic.
Data from NHS England also revealed yesterday that urgent cancer referrals are down 15 per cent due to the coronavirus "effect" – while NHS waiting lists reached record highs.
The study by the CEBM revealed that around 30,000 people who contracted the coronavirus were already dying from another illness and that just six people per thousand who catch it are likely to die from it.
The current seven day average of deaths caused by the coronavirus in the UK is 56 deaths per day.
A record number of Brits were confirmed positive on Thursday, with 17,540 new infections – a steep increase on the 6,914 cases confirmed just a week earlier.
NHS data also revealed more than 600 Brits were admitted to hospital on Sunday — the largest number since early June.
There were also 77 coronavirus deaths reported on Thursday, the highest daily figure for more than three months.
But data from the Oxford study revealed that deaths from other causes actually have a higher seven day average than the coronavirus.
Cancer has an average of 450 deaths a day, while deaths caused by dementia average at 214 deaths each day.
Heart disease has 174 and suicide has 18.
Looking at the age of patients who are dying, the experts said that around 40 per cent of people who have died from the virus are over the age of 85.
It also found that a further 33 per cent are between 75 and 84.
Local lockdowns are in place across the UK and include all age groups.
It was revealed earlier this week that more restrictions could be enforced in parts of the North and the Midlands in order to curb cases and to ease the burden on the NHS.
Professor Karol Sikora, head of Buckingham University medical school and the medical director of Rutherford Health said we "can't afford" to worry about the NHS being overwhelmed.
He told the Daily Mail: "Instead we need to get people back to work and get rid of these ridiculous, unenforceable rules.
"They are ineffective and counter-productive, and are causing unimaginable harm."
Looking at the age of people dying from other conditions, and the data also highlighted that barely one per cent of people dying from dementia are under the age of 44.
The average age of people dying from other causes is 81.5 years.
This reinforces the "Great Barrington Declaration", which has so far been signed by over 15,000 experts in the medical profession.
'Stay away from the elderly'
The declaration calls for the end to local restrictions and instead a focus on protecting those who are most at risk.
It also states that younger people "should be immediately allowed to get back to normal life".
The data shows that those who are most at risk from the virus are the elderly.
Dr Jason Oke, a senior statistician at the Oxford centre said more young people are getting infected and that it could be the reason why the infection rate is dropping.
He said another reason the rate of infection could be dropping is due to the fact that more treatments are now available for the virus.
Dr Oke said the figures "reinforce the message that the illness needs to be kept away from the elderly".
The infection rate of the virus has dropped from 3.3 per cent in the summer to 0.5 per cent in August.
Further studies into the links between age and the coronavirus have stated that the elderly are two and a half times more likely to die from the virus than those in a younger age group.
Dr Kathryn McCarthy, said: "Greater awareness is needed around the concept of frailty and its use as a tool for assessment."
While the average age for those dying of the coronavirus is 82.4, many people who have survived the virus have been left with debilitating illnesses.
Dubbed long-Covid, many who have recovered are still suffering months on.
A report from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change stated that long Covid is rare in people under the age of 19 and those over the age of 65.
There is a higher prevalence of people of a working age, women are more affected than men and the median age for someone developing long Covid is 45.
Daniel Sleat, co-author of the report, said: "While long Covid poses a significant risk, it must be assessed alongside the wider impacts of Covid restrictions, both in economic and health terms, as governments determine their next steps on containment measures to avoid a full lockdown."
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