More men than women are dying with coronavirus – despite the gap closing during last summer as fatalities fell, new analysis of figures has shown.

Overall there has been an almost 18% difference in the total number of COVID-19-related deaths for men (63,700) and women (53,300), between March 2020 and January 2021, according to the Office of National Statistics.

In the early stages of the pandemic, particularly between 1 March and 30 April, the difference was even more pronounced – : 30% more men (21,600) than women (16,600) died in the UK during those two months.

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There were just over 38,200 deaths involving coronavirus in the UK during that period, and men accounted for around 57% of those.

As the year progressed, the difference in the number of deaths between men and women narrowed until the end of September 2020, when the gap between them began to open again.

This peaked again in the week ending 22 January with 4,600 deaths for men and 4,200 for women.

Among registered deaths of people of traditional working age (20 to 64 years) in England and Wales between 9 March and 28 December 2020, the mortality rate involving COVID-19 was significantly greater among men than women – 31 deaths per 100,000 compared with 17 deaths, respectively.

This was true after standardising for age and applied across all occupational groups.

Previous research has suggested higher fatalities in men could partly be down to male immune systems being less equipped to fight off viruses than female immune systems.

Behavioural factors like refusing to wear face masks, social distance, or go to the doctor could also play a role in male COVID-19 outcomes, according to studies.

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