Excess mortality among essential workers in England and Wales during the COVID-19 pandemic: an updated analysis.

Background: Excess mortality from all causes combined during the COVID-19 pandemic in England and Wales in 2020 was predominantly higher for essential workers. In 2021, the vaccination programme had begun, new SARS-CoV-2 variants were identified and different policy approaches were used. We have updated our previous analyses of excess mortality in England and Wales to include trends in excess mortality by occupation for 2021.

Methods: We estimated excess mortality for working age adults living in England and Wales by occupational group for each month in 2021 and for the year as a whole.

Results: During 2021, excess mortality remained higher for most groups of essential workers than for non-essential workers. It peaked in January 2021 when all-cause mortality was 44.6% higher than expected for all occupational groups combined. Excess mortality was highest for adults working in social care (86.9% higher than expected).

Conclusion: Previously, we reported excess mortality in 2020, with this paper providing an update to include 2021 data. Excess mortality was predominantly higher for essential workers during 2021. However, unlike the first year of the pandemic, when healthcare workers experienced the highest mortality, the highest excess mortality during 2021 was experienced by social care workers.