UK: ‘South Asians at greater risk in 2nd virus wave’

LONDON

The UK’s South Asian community is at greater risk during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the country’s other ethnic minorities, a new study has revealed.

The study, published in The Lancet medical journal on Saturday, found that all ethnic minority groups in the UK were disproportionately affected during the first wave of the pandemic.

However, these differences narrowed during the second wave, as South Asians were found to be more likely to contract the virus.

“It’s concerning to see that the disparity widened among South Asian groups. This highlights an urgent need to find effective prevention measures that fit with the needs of the UK’s ethnically diverse population,” said Dr. Rohini Mathur, the lead author of the study.

“The fact that inequalities worsened for South Asian groups in the second wave compared with the first wave suggests that more aggressive and tailored interventions are needed to meet the needs in these communities.”

During the first wave, which ran from March to September 2020, nearly all ethnic groups were at high risk of infection, hospitalization, and death, according to the study.

The second wave from November 2020 to February 2021 saw the Bengali, Indian, and Pakistani communities being at greater risk than other groups, it said.

For reasons behind the disparity, the study looked at social factors such as standard of living, income, and household sizes.

The research concluded that South Asian communities have larger households when compared to Black, Asian, white, and other groups.

Disparities in wealth and income meant that many in the South Asian community could not afford to work from home or were not offered that option by their employers, the study found.

As a result, they were forced to travel and work outside, which increased their vulnerability, it said.

The research quoted the 2011 national census in the UK which showed that 21% of South Asian groups live in multigenerational households, much higher than the 7% in white groups.

“In general, living in multigenerational households and highly networked communities is of huge social benefit,” read the study.

“But with infectious diseases, it may also increase risk of exposure to the infection from younger or working-age adults who may bring the virus into the household and may potentially put older members at risk.”

The study, which was the largest of its kind and was funded by the Medical Research Council, involved a team of scientists from the University of Oxford and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

They analyzed medical data from 17 million adults across the country and compared it to data from the first and second waves of the pandemic.