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How the Oxford University algorithm decides who should protect
By Rowland Manthorpe, Technology Correspondent
A new algorithm has been developed to try and calculate people who are at increased risk of COVID-19 due to multiple factors, so they should protect themselves, but how does it work?
Very simply, this algorithm works by using the details from your medical records to assess the likelihood that you will contract the coronavirus and die.
He examines this information and then gives you a score of 100 – a high score means you are more likely to contract COVID-19 and die, a low score means you are less likely to happen.
Those with the highest scores are added to the protection list and prioritized for vaccination.
Whether you get one of the highest scores depends on your personal characteristics, such as your age, gender or ethnicity, as well as your weight compared to your height.
Older people are known to be more vulnerable to COVID-19. Men are more vulnerable, so they will score higher. The same applies to ethnicity.
Other factors that will increase your score include if you smoke, are homeless, or most importantly, if you are taking certain types of medications.
Some cancer patients, for example, were not included in the first protection list. This algorithm can be run through the NHS database, select those people and then mark them for vaccination.
And poverty is known to be linked to more severe COVID-19 outcomes and this algorithm includes a measure of deprivation, based on your zip code.
Read more here.
