Six in ten coronavirus deaths in England involve disabled people and the risk is three times greater for those with severe disabilities, according to new data.

More than 30,000 disabled people had died with the disease up to November 2020, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The figures show that of the 50,888 deaths from January 24 2020 to 20 November 2020, 30,296 were disabled people – some 59.5%.

Over that period, the risk of death involving coronavirus was 3.5 times greater for ‘more-disabled’ women and 2.0 times greater for less-disabled women, compared with able-bodied females, data shows. In men, the risk of death was 3.1 times greater for the more-disabled and 1.9 times greater for the less-disabled.

The ONS said disability status was self-reported based on the 2011 Census, and those who said that their day-to-day activities were ‘limited a little’ or ‘limited a lot’ are referred to as ‘less-disabled’ and ‘more-disabled’ respectively.

Richard Kramer, chief executive of national disability charity Sense, said: ‘Disabled people are three times more likely to die from Covid-19, than non-disabled people. This is even greater for particular groups, such as those with a learning disability.

‘And yet, throughout this pandemic, disabled people and their needs haven’t been prioritised.’

The alarming figures are likely to raise questions about whether people with disabilities should be better protected from the virus or receive vaccines more quickly – though many will already be included in the first nine priority groups.

Various other factors have been linked to higher death rates in Covid-19 patients, including age, ethnicity, weight, gender and underlying health conditions.

The ONS said that it used statistical models to adjust for personal and household characteristics, including residence type, geography, demographic and socio-economic factors, and pre-existing health conditions.

That meant a smaller but still statistically significantly raised risk of death remained unexplained for more-disabled and less-disabled women (1.4 and 1.2 times respectively) and more-disabled men (1.1 times) but not for less-disabled men.

Researchers say that means no single factor can explains the considerably raised risk of death – adding that place of residence, socio-economic and geographical circumstances, and pre-existing health conditions all play a part.

The ONS said an important part of the raised risk is because disabled people are disproportionately exposed to a range of generally disadvantages compared with non-disabled people.

Mr Kramer continued: ‘From the lack of infrastructure to allow those forced to shield to access food and medicine during the first lockdown, to the cuts in social care support affecting those living independently and families caring for them at home, (disabled people) have largely been forgotten, left without sufficient support, information and communication.

‘It is not enough that there will be investigation into the disproportionate impact of the virus upon disabled people’s lives, and how society has managed this.

‘The Government must act now, planning its way out of lockdown with disabled people and their family’s needs prioritised, to show that it’s learnt from the mistakes of the past year.’

People with a medically diagnosed learning disability had a 1.7 times higher risk of death involving Covid-19 after adjusting for other factors.

The ONS said socio-economic, geographical circumstances and pre-existing health conditions made some difference to that risk, but that the largest effect was associated with living in a care home or other communal establishment.

Overall the study suggested the various patterns remained largely unchanged between the first and second waves of the pandemic.

Disabled people made up 17.2% of the study population.

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