Age-standardised mortality rates (ASMRs) for deaths involving COVID-19 by ethnic group, England.

BackgroundMinority ethnic groups are at increased risk of COVID-19 related mortality or morbidity yet continue to have a disproportionally lower uptake of the vaccine. The importance of adherence to prevention and control measures to keep vulnerable populations and their families safe therefore remains crucial. This research sought to examine the knowledge, perceived risk, and attitudes toward COVID-19 among an ethnically diverse community.MethodsA cross-sectional self-administered questionnaire was implemented to survey ethnic minority participants purposefully recruited from Luton, an ethnically diverse town in the southeast of England. The questionnaire was structured to assess participants knowledge, perceived risk, attitudes toward protective measures as well as the sources of information about COVID-19. The questionnaire was administered online via Qualtrics with the link shared through social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp. Questionnaires were also printed into brochures and disseminated via community researchers and community links to individuals alongside religious, community and outreach organisations. Data were analysed using appropriate statistical techniques, with the significance threshold for all analyses assumed at p = 0.05.Findings1,058 participants (634; 60% females) with a median age of 38 (IQR, 22) completed the survey. National TV and social networks were the most frequently accessed sources of COVID-19 related information; however, healthcare professionals, whilst not widely accessed, were viewed as the most trusted. Knowledge of transmission routes and perceived susceptibility were significant predictors of attitudes toward health-protective practises.Conclusion/recommendationImproving the local information provision, including using tailored communication strategies that draw on trusted sources, including healthcare professionals, could facilitate understanding of risk and promote adherence to health-protective actions.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The Evidence for Equality National Survey (EVENS) is a national survey that documents the experiences and attitudes of ethnic and religious minorities in Britain. EVENS was developed by the Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE) in response to the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 and is the largest and most comprehensive survey of the lives of ethnic and religious minorities in Britain for more than 25 years. EVENS used pioneering, robust survey methods to collect data in 2021 from 14,200 participants of whom 9,700 identify as from an ethnic or religious minority. The EVENS main dataset, which is available from the UK Data Service under SN 9116, covers a large number of topics including racism and discrimination, education, employment, housing and community, health, ethnic and religious identity, and social and political participation.

The EVENS Teaching Dataset provides a selection of variables in an accessible form to support the use of EVENS in teaching across a range of subjects and levels of study. The dataset includes demographic data and variables to support the analysis of:

• racism and belonging
• health and well-being during COVID-19
• political attitudes and trust.

Racism, belonging, impact of COVID-19, health, well-being, financial position, political attitudes and trust.

Black men and women in the United Kingdom were four times more likely to die from Coronavirus than white people of the same gender as of April 2020. Several other ethnic groups were also at an increased risk from Coronavirus than the white population, with men of Bangladeshi or Pakistani origin 3.6 times more likely, and women 3.4 more likely to die from Coronavirus.

For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

Counts of coronavirus (COVID-19) related deaths by ethnic group in Wales.

Approximately one quarter of the UK population have a migration background (first- or second-generation immigrants). Some ethnic minority groups are more likely to be in atypical or flexible employment than the White British majority. In particular during a time of health and economic crisis, such as the COVID–19 pandemic, those ethnic groups were expected to be economically more vulnerable than other groups. This study shows the increased vulnerability of some ethnic minority groups during COVID–19 by looking at their labour market outcomes compared to White British. Specifically, we ask whether it was their disproportionate presence in flexible employment or in shut-down occupations that made some ethnic minority groups vulnerable to adverse labour market outcomes during the COVID–19 recession? Using the COVID–19 recession in the UK as a case study, we employ weighted linear probability models with 2021 data from the Evidence for Equality National Survey (EVENS) to look at changes in economic indicators across ethnic groups and gender. We report heterogeneity in flexible employment rates within the non-White group and between the non-White and the White British group. By using a conditional decomposition method, we aim to show that those ethnic minority groups who were disproportionately on flexible contracts experienced worse economic effects than the White British group. The collection consists of the Stata Do-File which can be used to reproduce the study.

Was it their disproportionate presence in flexible employment or in shut-down occupations that made some ethnic minority groups vulnerable to adverse labour market outcomes during the COVID–19 recession? Using the COVID–19 recession in the UK as a case study, we employ weighted linear probability models with 2021 data from the Evidence for Equality National Survey (EVENS) to look at changes in economic indicators across ethnic groups and gender. We report heterogeneity in flexible employment rates within the non-White group and between the non-White and the White British group. By using a conditional decomposition method, we conclude that those ethnic minority groups who were disproportionately on flexible contracts experienced worse economic effects than the White British group.

Model estimates of deaths involving the coronavirus (COVID-19) by ethnic group for people in private households in England.

According to a report conducted in the United Kingdom in 2020, 50 percent of white women and 46 percent of Black and minority women said they had experienced abuse based on their gender. Additionally, 42 percent of Black and minoritized respondents of color reported having experienced abuse based on their ethnic background. Black women and women of color were also more likely to be targeted by online abuse based on their religion and gender identity.

PIONEER: The impact of ethnicity and multi-morbidity on COVID-related outcomes; a primary care supplemented hospitalised dataset Dataset number 3.0

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was identified in January 2020. Currently, there have been more than 65million cases and more than 1.5 million deaths worldwide. Some individuals experience severe manifestations of infection, including viral pneumonia, adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and death. Evidence suggests that older patients, those from some ethnic minority groups and those with multiple long-term health conditions have worse outcomes. This secondary care COVID dataset contains granular demographic and morbidity data, supplemented from primary care records, to add to the understanding of patient factors on disease outcomes.

PIONEER geography The West Midlands (WM) has a population of 5.9 million & includes a diverse ethnic & socio-economic mix. There is a higher than average percentage of minority ethnic groups. WM has a large number of elderly residents but is the youngest population in the UK. Each day >100,000 people are treated in hospital, see their GP or are cared for by the NHS. The West Midlands was one of the hardest hit regions for COVID admissions in both wave 1 and 2.

EHR. University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) is one of the largest NHS Trusts in England, providing direct acute services & specialist care across four hospital sites, with 2.2 million patient episodes per year, 2750 beds & 100 ITU beds. UHB runs a fully electronic healthcare record (EHR) (PICS; Birmingham Systems), a shared primary & secondary care record (Your Care Connected) & a patient portal “My Health”. UHB has cared for >5000 COVID admissions to date.

Scope: All COVID swab confirmed hospitalised patients to UHB from January – May 2020. The dataset includes highly granular patient demographics & co-morbidities taken from ICD-10 & SNOMED-CT codes but also primary care records and clinic letters. Serial, structured data pertaining to care process (timings, staff grades, specialty review, wards), presenting complaint, acuity, all physiology readings (pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate, oxygen saturations), all blood results, microbiology, all prescribed & administered treatments (fluids, antibiotics, inotropes, vasopressors, organ support), all outcomes. Linked images available (radiographs, CT, MRI, ultrasound).

Available supplementary data: Health data preceding and following admission event. Matched “non-COVID” controls; ambulance, 111, 999 data, synthetic data.

Available supplementary support: Analytics, Model build, validation & refinement; A.I.; Data partner support for ETL (extract, transform & load) process, Clinical expertise, Patient & end-user access, Purchaser access, Regulatory requirements, Data-driven trials, “fast screen” services.

The COVID-19 Health Inequalities Monitoring in England (CHIME) tool brings together data relating to the direct impacts of coronavirus (COVID-19) on factors such as mortality rates, hospital admissions, confirmed cases and vaccinations.

By presenting inequality breakdowns - including by age, sex, ethnic group, level of deprivation and region - the tool provides a single point of access to:

• show how inequalities have changed during the course of the pandemic and what the current cumulative picture is
• bring together data in one tool to enable users to access and use the intelligence more easily
• provide indicators with a consistent methodology across different data sets to facilitate understanding
• support users to identify and address inequalities within their areas, and identify priority areas for recovery

In the March 2023 update, data has been updated for deaths, hospital admissions and vaccinations. Data on inequalities in vaccination uptake within upper tier local authorities has been added to the tool for the first time. This replaces data for lower tier local authorities, published in December 2022, allowing the reporting of a wider range of inequality breakdowns within these areas.

Please send any questions or comments to PHA-OHID@dhsc.gov.uk

As of February 4, 2022, in the age group 75 to 84 years old COVID-19 was involved in the deaths of 32,780 males and 23,390 females in the United Kingdom. Furthermore, since the pandemic started over 72 thousand deaths in the UK among those aged 85 years and above involved COVID-19. For further information about the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

Model estimates of deaths involving the coronavirus (COVID-19) by ethnic group for people in care homes in England.

The inequities of the COVID-19 pandemic were clear by April 2020 when data showed that despite being just 3.5% of the population in England, Black people comprised 5.8% of those who died from the virus; whereas White people, comprising 85.3% of the population, were 73.6% of those who died. The disproportionate impact continued with, for example, over-policing: 32% of stop and search in the year ending March 2021 were of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) males aged 15-34, despite them being just 2.6% of the population.

The emergency measures introduced to govern the pandemic worked together to create a damaging cycle affecting Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic families and communities of all ages. Key-workers – often stopped by police on their way to provide essential services – could not furlough or work from home to avoid infection, nor support their children in home-schooling. Children in high-occupancy homes lacked adequate space and/ or equipment to learn; such homes also lacked leisure space for key workers to restore themselves after extended hours at work. Over-policing instilled fear across the generations and deterred BAME people – including the mobile elderly - from leaving crowded homes for legitimate exercise, and those that did faced the risk of receiving a Fixed Penalty Notice and a criminal record.

These insights arose from research by Co-POWeR into the synergistic effects of emergency measures on policing, child welfare, caring, physical activity and nutrition. Using community engagement, a survey with 1000 participants and interviews, focus groups, participatory workshops and community testimony days with over 400 people in total, we explored the combined impact of COVID-19 and discrimination on wellbeing and resilience across BAME FC in the UK. This policy note crystallises our findings into a framework of recommendations relating to arts and media communications, systems and structures, community and individual well-being and resilience. We promote long term actions rather than short term reactions.

In brief, we conclude that ignoring race, gender and class when tackling a pandemic can undermine not only wellbeing across Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic families and communities (BAME FC) but also their levels of trust in government. A framework to protect wellbeing and resilience in BAME FC during public health emergencies was developed by Co-POWeR to ensure that laws and guidance adopted are culturally competent.

Two viruses - COVID-19 and discrimination - are currently killing in the UK (Solanke 2020), especially within BAMEFC who are hardest hit. Survivors face ongoing damage to wellbeing and resilience, in terms of physical and mental health as well as social, cultural and economic (non-medical) consequences. Psychosocial (ADCS 2020; The Children's Society 2020)/ physical trauma of those diseased and deceased, disproportionate job-loss (Hu 2020) multigenerational housing, disrupted care chains (Rai 2016) lack of access to culture, education and exercise, poor nutrition, 'over-policing' (BigBrotherWatch 2020) hit BAMEFC severely. Local 'lockdowns' illustrate how easily BAMEFC become subject to stigmatization and discrimination through 'mis-infodemics' (IOM 2020). The impact of these viruses cause long-term poor outcomes. While systemic deficiencies have stimulated BAMEFC agency, producing solidarity under emergency, BAMEFC vulnerability remains, requiring official support. The issues are complex thus we focus on the interlinked and 'intersectional nature of forms of exclusion and disadvantage', operationalised through the idea of a 'cycle of wellbeing and resilience' (CWAR) which recognises how COVID-19 places significant stress upon BAMEFC structures and the impact of COVID-19 and discrimination on different BAMEFC cohorts across the UK, in whose lives existing health inequalities are compounded by a myriad of structural inequalities. Given the prevalence of multi-generational households, BAMEFC are likely to experience these as a complex of jostling over-lapping stressors: over-policed unemployed young adults are more likely to live with keyworkers using public transport to attend jobs in the front line, serving elders as formal/informal carers, neglecting their health thus exacerbating co-morbidities and struggling to feed children who are unable to attend school, resulting in nutritional and digital deprivation. Historical research shows race/class dimensions to national emergencies (e.g. Hurricane Katrina) but most research focuses on the COVID-19 experience of white families/communities. Co-POWeR recommendations will emerge from culturally and racially sensitive social science research on wellbeing and resilience providing context as an essential strand for the success of biomedical and policy interventions (e.g. vaccines, mass testing). We will enhance official decision-making through strengthening cultural competence in ongoing responses to COVID-19 thereby...

A survey carried out in the United Kingdom in September 2021 revealed that 36 percent of respondents between the ages of 16 and 24 had come across news or information about the coronavirus that they thought was false or misleading in the last week, compared to just 17 percent of those aged 65 or above. Younger consumers were also the least likely to say that they had not seen any fake news on COVID-19 or were unsure whether or not they had, whilst a higher share of older consumers admitted that they did not know if they had encounted misleading information about the pandemic in the week running to the survey.

For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

A survey carried out in England found that, as of February 11, 2020, 57.2 percent of women and 55.6 percent of men aged 80 years and over tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies. In England, as well as the rest of the UK, vaccinations for COVID-19 were first rolled out for the older age groups, this explains the higher prevalence of antibodies in the oldest age group compared to the younger age groups.

For further information about the coronavirus pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

Rates of deaths involving the coronavirus (COVID-19) by comorbidity and ethnic group in England.

A survey carried out in the United Kingdom in September 2021 revealed that the main source used for news on COVID-19 among consumers aged 16 to 24 years old was the BBC, with 51 percent saying that they went to a BBC platform for coronavirus updates in the last week. The same share of respondents in that age group also used social media for COVID-19 information, whereas older consumers were more likely to read newspapers.

For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

According to a survey conducted in the United Kingdom (UK) in April 2022, 4.13 percent of all people aged between 35 and 49 years reported to be suffering from long COVID symptoms, the highest share across all age groups. Furthermore, around 3.7 percent of the population aged 50 to 69 years were estimated to suffer from long COVID. Overall, around 863 thousand people in the UK reported their ability to undertake daily activities and routines was affected a little by long COVID symptoms.

Present state of COVID-19 As of May 2022, over 22 million COVID-19 cases had been reported in the UK. The largest surge of cases was noted over the winter period 2021/22. The incidence of cases in the county since the pandemic began stood at around 32,624 per 100,000 population. Cyprus had the highest incidence of COVID-19 cases among its population in Europe at 75,798 per 100,000 people, followed by a rate of 51,573 in Iceland. Over 175 thousand COVID-19 deaths have been reported in the UK. The deadliest day on record was January 20, 2021, when 1,820 deaths were recorded. In the UK, a COVID-19 death is defined as a person who died within 28 days of a positive test.

Preventing long COVID through vaccination According to the WHO, being fully vaccinated alongside a significant proportion of the population also vaccinated is the best way to avoid the spread of COVID-19 or serious symptoms associated with the virus. It is therefore regarded that receiving a vaccine course as well as subsequent booster vaccines limits the chance of developing long COVID symptoms. As of April 27, 2022, around 53.2 million first doses, 49.7 million second doses, and 39.2 booster doses had been administered in the UK.

Between January 1, 2021 and May 31, 2022, there were approximately 30.6 thousand deaths involving COVID-19 among 80 to 89 year olds in England, with over 14 thousand deaths occurring among unvaccinated people in this age group. Across all the age groups in the provided time interval, deaths involving COVID-19 among the unvaccinated population was around double the amount of people who received at least two doses of a vaccine. For further information about the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.