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Tackling UK’s mortality problem: covid-19 and other causes

2020; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1136/bmj.m2295

1756-1833

Veena Raleigh,

Health and Conflict Studies

Tackling UK's mortality problem: covid-19 and other causesWe cannot reduce excess deaths unless we know what's causing them Veena S Raleigh senior fellowThe number of deaths from covid-19 in the UK is among the highest reported internationally, second only to the US. 1 This covid-19 related mortality surge comes on the heels of the historical legacy of stalling improvements in life expectancy in UK. 2 The development of evidence based policies and interventions for tackling both covid-19 and other causes of death is imperative if the UK's mortality problem is to improve.This requires a clear understanding of what's driving mortality.In under three months, SARS-CoV-2 has claimed at least 46 000 lives in England and Wales, 3 overtaking the annual death toll from major conditions such as lung cancer and stroke to become the third leading cause of death in 2020. 4 The death toll from covid-19 is still rising, and even these grim statistics don't fully capture the effect of covid-19 since deaths from other causes also increased (by over 12 000) during the same period.