People commute along Westminster Bridge in London, Britain, Feb. 17, 2021.(Photo: Xinhua)

 
Coronavirus-related deaths in England and Wales are falling fastest among those aged 80 and over thanks to the vaccine rollout in Britain, statistics from the British Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed Tuesday.

There were 1,622 deaths for those over 80 years old in the week to Feb. 19, down 69 percent from 5,300 four weeks earlier.

Meanwhile, the number of deaths among those aged 70 to 79 dropped 65 percent over the same period, while the number of deaths in the 0 to 69 age group fell by 55 percent.

According to the ONS, these discrepancies between age groups suggest the vaccine program has been an important factor in preventing coronavirus mortality.

The latest ONS data also showed that there were 3,017 deaths in the most recent week. Deaths among the over-70s have accounted for 83 percent of all coronavirus deaths in England and Wales. The ONS figures are based on mentions of COVID-19 on death certificates.

More than 20.2 million people in Britain have been given the first jab of a coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures.

England is currently under the third national lockdown since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country. Similar restriction measures are also in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines.