THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON

HEALTH AND SOCIOECONOMIC

INEQUALITIES
[Document subtitle]
Table of Contents
Abstract......................................................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................2
Literature review.......................................................................................................................................3
Research Questions...................................................................................................................................4
Research Objectives..............................................................................................................................4
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................................4
References..................................................................................................................................................5
Abstract
Throughout the COVID-19 epidemic, politicians and the media shared similar views, stressing
that "we're all in this together" and that the virus "doesn't discriminate." The purpose of this
article is to disprove the widespread belief that COVID-19 is a socially neutral disease by
showing that, as was the case a century ago, there are inequalities in COVID-19 morbidity and
mortality rates, which in turn reflect existing unequal studies of chronic diseases and the social
determinants of health (Bambra, 2020). We published the findings of our COVID-19 impact
investigation in July 2021 with the intention of informing the public about the long-term effects
of the pandemic on health and health disparities.

INTRODUCTION
The study discovered that previous inequities and the unfortunate fitness of some locations in the
UK led to the virus's negative impact. People under 65 in the poorest 10% of English areas are
over 4 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than inside the richest 10% of English places,
according to the study, highlighting large health disparities among the various working-age
populace. According to the results, improving people's access to healthcare must be a top priority
all through the recovery because it is crucial to "levelling up" and maintaining economic growth
(Cheshmehzangi, 2021).

Nearly a quarter of the population had experienced COVID-19 infection at least once by the time
the report was written in May 2021, and slightly more than half of UK adults had received at
least two doses of vaccination. We demonstrated how the pandemic impacted health and
disparities, how policy helped mitigate some of these effects, and how future risks to health
should be taken into account (Cheshmehzangi, 2021).

By April 2022, over 90% of the UK population had been exposed to COVID-19 at least once,
while only 74% of the population had received all three recommended immunizations. Legal
constraints on the current investigation have been established. What can be done in the United
Kingdom to avoid another COVID-19-style disaster will be greatly informed by the results of
this investigation. Avoid underestimating the size and complexity of the problem at hand. In this
piece, we utilize the findings from our impact study on COVID-19 to consider the broader
implications of this virus for health and its underlying determinants (Cheshmehzangi, 2021). We
also talk about how far we've gone in addressing health problems and the implications of "living
with COVID-19" for the country.

Literature review
Even though the overall death toll from COVID-19 has dropped, there is still a large gap in
mortality risk between residents of the most and least disadvantaged communities. Since July
2021-2, the poorest areas have seen the highest COVID-19 mortality rates and the highest overall
number of COVID-19 deaths (Davillas & Jones, 2021).

When taking into account differences in population age, the COVID-19 death toll in low-income
areas has been three to four times that in high-income areas in recent months. At least 2,300
people in England's poorest regions died from COVID-19 between July and December 2021—
2.5 times as many as in the countries wealthiest parts (900).

Fig 1: COVID-19 mortality rates in the most deprived areas remain higher than in the least
deprived areas (Davillas & Jones, 2021)

Even though the most recent data is only available as of February 2022, inequalities have
persisted amongst persons of different ethnic origins. At least two to three times as many people
of Bangladeshi and Pakistani descent have died as white Britons in the Omicron variant wave,
and the same is true of those of mixed racial or ethnic backgrounds in the black Caribbean
(Jaspal, 2020).
Our analysis of the effects indicated that these patterns of death were linked to factors including
prior poor health and increased vulnerability to exposure to the virus. As of July 2022, the MRC
Biostatistics Unit estimated that there were approximately sixty seven million COVID-19
infections, with the vast majority (around fifty two million) occurring within the beyond 12
months, suggesting that the risk of publicity is no longer of primary concern. This follows an
April announcement by the Rius, (2021). that 90% of the UK population had contracted COVID-
19. Although there are many other factors, one of the most important is a person's level of stylish
fitness. People aged 50-69 who live in the top 10% most deprived regions are twice as likely to
suffer from two or more long-term diseases than their counterparts in the top 10% least deprived
areas. Due of the epidemic, the NHS has been under extreme strain (Jaspal, 2020).

By July 2021, 7.5 million fewer individuals would have been placed into consultant-led elective
treatment due to the obligation to target services towards severe occurrences of COVID-19 and
the greater restrictions in place. Despite a 95% objective, only 73% of patients seen in A&E
departments within 4 hours in December 2021 and February 2022 (Rius, 2021). In February, just
63% of patients waiting for elective (planned) therapy had been referred by the time their 18-
week wait period was ended, despite the fact that 92% had been established as the objective.
There were 6.5 million individuals on the waiting list for routine hospital care in June 2022, and
323,000 of them had been waiting for more than a year.

Research Questions
What effect does covid-19 have on health and economic differences?

How does COVID-19 affect economic disparity?

What kind of social problem does the COVID-19 pandemic cause?

Research Objectives
To investigate the influence of Covid-19 on health and socioeconomic inequality.

To examine the societal concerns that occur because of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic caught everyone by surprise, and its effects on the health of the British
population have been severe. Future health is also threatened by the spread of the disease. It will
take time for researchers to fully understand the effects of the many factors that affect human
health. Concerning temporal mutation of the virus, long-term efficacy of vaccination, and the
true size of delayed COVID, more research is needed to fully understand the direct impact of
COVID-19 on health (Rocha, 2021).

You can't deny the significance of some of the findings. The political and societal reaction to the
pandemic highlights the usefulness of governmental action in resolving social issues. Large-scale
vaccination and humanitarian campaigns have had positive results (Rocha, 2021). The
disproportionately adverse effects seen by some groups, however, are a reflection of underlying
fault lines in society, with the inability to confront past injustices exacerbating the consequences
for many. It is also common knowledge that economically deprived areas have a higher rate of
death from COVID-19 than wealthier areas.

References
Bambra, C. (2020). The COVID-19 pandemic and health inequalities. Journal of Epidemiology

and Community Health, 74(11), 965. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2020-214401

Cheshmehzangi, A. (2021). Vulnerability of the UK’s BAME communities during COVID-19:

The review of public health and socio-economic inequalities. Journal of Human

Behavior in the Social Environment, 32(2), 1–18.

https://doi.org/10.1080/10911359.2021.1875949

Davillas, A., & Jones, A. M. (2021). The first wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic and its impact

on socioeconomic inequality in psychological distress in the UK. Health Economics,

30(7), 1668–1683. https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.4275

Jaspal, R. (2020). Socio-economic inequalities in social network, loneliness and mental health

during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 68(1),

002076402097669. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020764020976694
Rius, C. (2021). Socioeconomic Inequalities in COVID-19 in a European Urban Area: Two

Waves, Two Patterns. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public

Health, 18(3), 1256. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18031256

Rocha, R. (2021). Effect of socioeconomic inequalities and vulnerabilities on health-system

preparedness and response to COVID-19 in Brazil: a comprehensive analysis. The Lancet

Global Health, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(21)00081-4

Vale, E. G. (2021). A decomposition analysis for socioeconomic inequalities in health status

associated with the COVID-19 diagnosis and related symptoms during Brazil’s first wave

of infections. EconomiA, 22(3), 251–264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econ.2021.09.002