Ethnic minority Covid risk 'not explained by racism' - BBC News

A scientist advising the government on ethnicity and Covid says "structural racism is not a reasonable explanation" for black and south Asian people's greater risk of illness and death.

An earlier report by Public Health England said racism may contribute to the unequal death toll.

The newly appointed expert adviser said this approach would help prevent everyone at risk - including poorer white groups living in crowded housing - from missing out on help.

Dr Ali made his comments during a briefing on the first quarterly report on Covid disparities, led by the government's Race Disparity Unit and the Minister for Equalities, Kemi Badenoch.

The report is a stocktake of the actions taken and evidence gathered since previous analyses by Public Health England, which set out the greater risks faced by black, Asian and other ethnic minority groups.

One report by Public Health England, published in June, said: "Historic racism and poorer experiences of healthcare or at work may mean that individuals in BAME groups are less likely to seek care when needed or as NHS staff are less likely to speak up when they have concerns about personal protective equipment or risk.".

The doctors' union, the British Medical Association, responded to the new government report, calling for "tangible action right now to protect BAME [black and minority ethnic] people".

To find out more about why these risks exist, the authors reviewed recent studies, including figures from the Office for National Statistics, and Public Health England.

The report runs through familiar themes, such as occupations with higher risk of exposure to the virus, underlying health conditions, concentration in densely-populated urban areas and multi-generational households.

However, with a second wave of coronavirus now evident and winter approaching, there will be continuing apprehension among some in ethnic minority groups.

In the briefing, Dr Ali said: "The problem with focusing on ethnicity as a risk factor is that it misses the very large number of non-ethnic minority groups, so whites basically, who also live in deprived areas and overcrowded housing and with high risk occupations.".

He pointed out that generally people from BAME backgrounds have better health outcomes than other groups.

Prof Naveed Sattar, at the University of Glasgow, said: "This report reminds us that there has been 'uneven spread' of the virus dependent on where and in what kind of environments people live and the jobs they have and that these factors explain a substantial part of the ethnic differences in risk of severe Covid, but not all.".

But she added: "Further detail is still needed in explaining why BAME groups are more susceptible to worse outcomes.

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