Public Health England disparities review finds Black and Asian groups more likely to die of COVID-19

Public Health England has published its review of COVID-19 disparities, looking at how the impact of the disease varies according to ethnicity and other factors, such as age, sex, deprivation, occupation, and geography. A link to the full report can be found here.

The review found that:

• People of Bangladeshi ethnicity have around twice the risk of death as White British people.
• People of Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, Other Asian, Caribbean, and Other Black ethnicity had between 10 and 50% higher risk of death.
• Death rates in the most deprived areas are more than double those in the least deprived areas.
• People over 80 were seventy times more likely to die than those under 40.
• There was a strong regional pattern, with London showing the highest diagnoses and death rates.

The analysis was not able to account for other factors, such as comorbidities, occupation, and household composition. These are important, as there are high proportions of BAME workers in key occupations, and many from BAME groups tend to live in larger and multi-generational households, both of which can lead to higher risk of exposure to the virus.

It appears from the PHE analysis that the impact of COVID-19 follows a similar pattern to so many of the deeply ingrained public health challenges that we face – from morbid obesity to deaths from smoking. It is always the most vulnerable that are impacted by public health challenges, and that has a good deal to do with the environments and social determinants of health which people face.

Here at Solutions 4 Health we will continue to both provide and develop innovative, sustainable lifestyle and clinical services that improve healthcare for all, especially those who experience inequitable health outcomes.