Mortality rates in the UK soared during the pandemic, bringing attention to the ethnic inequalities in mortality.
Mortality was the greatest amongst those from ethnic minorities. However, this was certainly not the case before the pandemic, and neither has it remained the case post-pandemic.
Covid-19 affected more than 44 million people in the UK from April 2020 until February 2022. Females of Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian, Chinese, and mixed ethnic groups had an equivalent risk of death to White females involving Covid-19.
Contrastingly, males from Black ethnic backgrounds were the most affected subset of the population. In real terms, it led to 255.7 deaths per 100,000 population compared to 87.0 deaths per 100,000 for males from a White ethnic background.
Meanwhile, the risk of mortality was 1.5 times more likely amongst Bangladeshi and Pakistani males and 1.6 times more likely in Indian males.
The disparity is almost incomprehensible. The imbalance in these figures is further compounded by the fact that before the pandemic, all-cause mortality in England and Wales was lower in most ethnic minorities compared to their White British counterparts. So, what caused this variance?
There are, in fact, several factors that contributed to this polarity. For example, in 2022, 70.8 per cent of Black adults were overweight or living with obesity.
Although being overweight does not increase the risk of Covid-19, it does increase the risk of becoming seriously unwell with the virus. Overcrowding is another factor.
The 2011 census showed that White British households were less likely to be overcrowded when compared to all other ethnic groups, resulting in Covid-19 spreading more easily.
There was also lower vaccination uptake due to factors such as misinformation in those from ethnic backgrounds, again contributing to higher mortality.
The UK is among the leading nations on ethnicity data in health, and following calls from the World Health Organisation (WHO), important steps are being taken to address health inequalities.
Health data is being analysed in subsets such as ethnic groups to improve health and reduce mortality. As the risk of future health pandemics cannot be ruled out with certainty, this is a crucial move towards a more equitable future.
