BRUSSELS, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) - Around seven percent of the 111,000 deaths recorded in Belgium in 2021 could be attributed to COVID-19, said a new report published by the Sciensano public health institute on Wednesday.
For the whole of 2021, Belgium registered 8,532 coronavirus deaths, compared to 19,819 a year earlier.
The report also highlights the impact of last July's flash floods in the country's northern region of Wallonia and of the heat wave in the middle of June, which together caused 184 additional deaths.
Excess mortality was observed primarily in the 65-84 age group, with 4,905 more deaths recorded. All ages combined, excess mortality was higher among men (plus 7.9 percent) than among women (plus 3 percent).
However, among people aged 85 and over, the mortality rate was lower than in 2020, with 291 fewer deaths than initially projected (minus 0.6 percent).
Belgium has recorded 2,878,212 COVID-19 infections and 28,863 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
A total of 6.3 million Belgians, or roughly 55 percent of the population, have received their third COVID-19 vaccine dose. ■
