Tongans had highest death rate ratio from Delta wave, in Australia [1]
Friday, November 25, 2022 - 00:24. Updated on Friday, November 25, 2022 - 00:35.
People born in Tonga were 80 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than other Australians during the Delta outbreak last year, a new analysis by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows.
Migrants were hard-hit by the various waves of Covid-19 in Australia, the figures reveal, after the ABS examined more than 12,500 deaths linked to the disease between March 2020 and August this year.
The ABS study, “COVID-19 Mortality by wave” [2] released on 16 November, confirmed that COVID-19 was deadlier among older people, those of lower socio-economic backgrounds and people with pre-existing illnesses.
During the Delta wave (between July and December 2021) and the later Omicron Wave (up to September 2022) death rates of Tongans in Australia linked to the disease were significant. They found that people born in Tonga had the highest death rate ratio, in both the Delta and Omicron wave, compared to those born in Australia. The figures in the following graph show the death rate (probability of dying) expressed as age standardised deaths per 100,000 people.
Table 1: Death rate during Delta outbreak (Jul–Dec 2021) by country of birth
*age-standardised deaths per 100,000 people
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Table 2: Death rate* during Omicron outbreak (Jan–Sep 2022) by country of birth
*age-standardised deaths per 100,000 people
The ABS's director of health, Lauren Moran said that, “overall, migrants were almost four times more likely to die from the Delta variant than people born in Australia”.
“Many victims were from the Middle East, but the highest death rates were among people born in Tonga and Samoa”.
During the delta wave, which hit before most people were vaccinated, COVID-19 deaths were concentrated in specific migrant communities, with the highest disparity in age-standardised death rates, were of those born in Tonga.
Most people killed by COVID-19 were aged 80 or older.
Ms Moran said “the migrant disparity decreased during the Omicron wave and, since July 2022, the death rate of those born in Australia has been higher".
“However, certain migrant groups remain more susceptible than others”.
Additionally, COVID-19 posed a greater risk to some Pacific Islander communities in Australia as a result of cultural factors and higher rates of pre-existing health problems.
Among the pre-existing illnesses associated with deaths, chronic heart problems, including coronary artery disease and cardiomyopathy being the most common underlying ;conditions.
Diabetes was the next-most-prevalent, pre-existing health problem.
Among people killed by COVID-19, pneumonia was the most common acute outcome that led to death, followed by respiratory failure.
ABC News reported that last year, Pacific groups ran local education campaigns to increase vaccination rates in the diaspora [3], and to debunk conspiracy theories about the disease.
Graph 1: Pre-existing conditions in people killed by COVID-19