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A Profile of COVID-19 in Ireland - Using Census 2016 Household Data to Analyse COVID-19 Waves, March 2020 - May 2021

Standardised Confirmed Incidence Rates

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The Standardised Confirmed Incidence Rate is the rate of incidence of COVID-19 in a population adjusted to a standard age distribution. Variations in the age distribution of the population from one area (or status) to another affects the comparability of incidence rates between areas. Therefore, crude incidence rates are not directly comparable. For this reason, we calculate the Standardised Confirmed Incidence Rate, a synthetic measure which does allow for comparison of incidence rates.

The key findings are:

  • Overall, the Standardised Confirmed Incidence Rates increased dramatically across the three waves.
  • The standardised Confirmed Incidence Rate increased dramatically from 570 to 3,874 per 100,000 population between waves 1 and 3.
  • Standardised Confirmed Incidence Rates were higher in females than in males in all three waves.
  • The rates were higher for females in all three waves. In wave 3, the rate per 100,000 population was 3,978 for females compared to 3,768 for males.
  • The Standardised Confirmed Incidence Rates varies by region and by wave - the highest rates were in Dublin in wave 1, in the Border in wave 2 and in Dublin in wave 3.
  • The most affluent areas had higher Standardised Confirmed Incidence Rates in wave 1, with a rate of 655 per 100,000 population in the most affluent quintile compared with 499 in the most deprived. This pattern reversed in wave 2, with a rate of 781 in the most affluent quintile compared with 1,055 in the most deprived. By wave 3, the rates were similar in the most affluent quintile (3,907) and the most deprived (3,874).
  • In Dublin, the most deprived areas had the highest Standardised Confirmed Incidence Rate in waves 1, 2 and 3.
  • People with a disability had a slightly higher incidence rate in wave 1 at 569 per 100,000 population compared with 537 for those with no disability. In waves 2 and 3, the rates were higher for people with no disability, with a rate of 3,803 for people with no disability in wave 3 compared with 3,214 for those with a disability.
Table 5.1 COVID-19 Standardised Confirmed Incidence Rates (per 100,000 of population) 1,2,3,4,5
 Males Females All persons
 Wave 1Wave 2Wave 3 Wave 1Wave 2Wave 3 Wave 1Wave 2Wave 3
All persons4969633,768 6449653,978 5709643,874
            
by NUTS-3 region           
Border4491,3724,105 6671,3194,387 5561,3434,246
West2857953,231 3458173,429 3148063,330
Mid-West2958773,543 3688803,778 3308793,661
South-East1866963,680 2576804,007 2226883,846
South-West2538532,808 2838593,080 2698582,948
Dublin8731,0324,614 1,1001,0674,726 9871,0504,668
Mid-East5451,1043,758 7701,0433,916 6621,0733,837
Midlands6059033,266 6049163,401 6059113,336
            
by Area of deprivation (quintiles)           
            
First quintile (least deprived)5877933,845 7187693,967 6557813,907
Second5109533,747 7019714,099 6079633,925
Third4719614,092 6449764,408 5569694,250
Fourth4901,0853,942 6351,0904,293 5631,0864,118
Fifth quintile (most deprived)4521,0593,768 5451,0523,978 4991,0553,874
            
by Area of deprivation (quintiles) Outside Dublin and Dublin           
            
Outside Dublin           
First quintile (least deprived)3838713,050 4318273,013 4108493,029
Second3498753,287 4928793,437 4228793,363
Third3589173,468 4899273,865 4239223,670
Fourth3971,0543,804 5111,0364,112 4551,0443,957
Fifth quintile (most deprived)3329613,501 3789213,755 3549403,628
            
Dublin           
First quintile (least deprived)7377323,564 9287193,531 8357263,546
Second9561,1745,396 1,2371,2295,397 1,0971,2025,399
Third1,0331,1815,148 1,3411,2135,203 1,1801,1995,164
Fourth1,0181,2695,694 1,2981,3755,954 1,1611,3195,827
Fifth quintile (most deprived)8851,3545,261 1,0831,4145,798 9871,3835,528
            
Usually resident persons present in the State on Census Night           
by Disability status 6           
Disability5137983,153 6187933,260 5697973,214
No Disability/Not Stated4719653,793 6029674,010 5379663,903
1 All data is based on CIDR data as of the 12th May 2021
2 All standardised COVID mortality and detected incidence rates are provisional and may be subject to further revision.
3 The above analysis is based on a 70% match rate between CIDR records and the Census of Population 2016 for Deprivation quintile calculations. For remaining records, an allocation process was used.
4 Detected incidence rates for COVID are standardised incidence rates based on recorded CIDR cases. They do not reflect undiagnosed cases as of 12th May 2021
5 Deprivation quintiles are based on the estimated deprivation in the Census of Population 2016 small areas. A high deprivation quintile will have prosperous households and vice-versa, so care must be taken in interpreting these figures as applying to groups of individuals and should not be interpreted as a precise representation of individual person or individual household deprivation levels.
6 Disability is defined here as those in the Census of Population with a disability only.
Open in Excel: Profile of COVID-19 2021 Table 5.1 (XLS 16KB)

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