Compared to average deaths between 2016 and 2019, excess mortality peaked in the EU in November last year at 40%. In Luxembourg, it was slightly higher, at 45.2% after 178 people died after testing positive for Sars-CoV-2 that month. Deaths posted in November 2020 were the for the grand duchy since March 1976.

Fast-forward to June 2021 and excess mortality was at 6.3% in Luxembourg, data provided by shows. However, only one death was attributed to the coronavirus and Eurostat provides no information on the cause of the rise in excess mortality that month. In May, excess mortality was at just 1.1%.

Across the EU, excess mortality in June was at 5.8%.

Looking at the pandemic’s waves, the first wave peaked at excess mortality of 25% in the EU and 18.5% in Luxembourg in April 2020. A spike of infections in April this year caused fewer deaths, with excess mortality of 20.2% EU-wide and 8.1% in the grand duchy, despite the daily number of new infections being higher.

Government data shows that 317 people have died after testing positive for Sars-CoV-2 this year, out of a total tally of 828 deaths. But fewer deaths have been posted since the vaccination campaign began to pick up speed.

While the four vaccines authorised by the European Medicines Agency for the EU do not guarantee immunity against the coronavirus, they are efficient in protecting from serious illness.

Latvia, which has one of the slowest vaccine roll-outs in the EU saw excess mortality of 20.5% in June, substantially above the European average.