Black and south Asian people are more likely to be hospitalized and to die from Covid infections, despite the fact that infections are lower in white people.
Infections were more common in Black and Asian groups during Britain's first two waves of Covid, but recently the pattern has shifted, with infections now more common among white people, even though their death rates remain relatively low.
Poor vaccine coverage is now a major reason for Covid in some Black and Asian groups, despite the government's efforts to improve vaccine coverage.
Dr Raghib Ali, the government's independent adviser on Covid-19 and ethnicity, and the author of the report, said that evidence gathered over the past year showed that the death rates in ethnic minorities in the first two waves of the Pandemic were due to a higher risk
The higher risk of infections was due to a number of factors, including a higher likelihood of living in a densely populated area, working in public-facing roles such as health and social care, and living in larger and multigenerational households.
The pattern of infections in ethnic minorities is lower than in whites, but the pattern of hospital admissions and deaths is still higher, with the pattern now matching levels of vaccine use in older and other higher risk groups. I think this is being driven by vaccination rates.
According to data gathered by Oxford University, vaccine coverage has reached more than 90 percent for white people, but is less than for blacks, with coverage for south Asian people only halfway between the two.
The proportion of people who are unvaccinated is four times higher in Black people than in south Asian people.
