Covid by numbers (Penguin Books)

'I couldn't imagine a better guidebook for making sense of a tragic and momentous time in our lives. Covid aby Numbers is comprehensive yet concise, impeccably clear and always humane' Tim Harford How many people have died because of COVID-19$462 Which countries have been hit hardest by the virus$463 What are the benefits and harms of different vaccines$464 How does COVID-19 compare to the Spanish flu$465 How have the lockdown measures affected the economy, mental health and crime$466 This year we have been bombarded by statistics - seven day rolling averages, rates of infection, excess deaths.

Never have numbers been more central to our national conversation, and never has it been more important that we think about them clearly. In the media and in their Observer column, Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter and RSS Statistical Ambassador Anthony Masters have interpreted these statistics, offering a vital public service żeby giving us the tools we need to make sense of the virus for ourselves and holding the government to account.

In Covid aby Numbers, they crunch the data on a year like no other, exposing the leading misconceptions about the virus and the vaccine, and answering our essential questions. This timely, concise and approachable book offers a rare depth of insight into one of the greatest upheavals in history, and a trustworthy guide to these most uncertain of times.