I led a Sage report on the effects of inequality during Covid – and the urgent need to address racism in our public services
- Laura Bear is professor of anthropology at LSE and leader of the Sage ethnicity subgroup’s report
How can we prevent enduring, unequal transmission of Covid-19 in specific communities and places? Some answers to this question come from a recent report by the ethnicity subgroup of Sage on the causes of the tragic loss of life among Bangladeshi and Pakistani British communities in the second wave of the pandemic.
While all minority ethnic groups remained at greater risk of death from Covid-19 compared with white ethnic groups in the period from October 2020 to January 2021, Bangladeshi and Pakistani groups were at the greatest risk. The Sage advice, which I led on, uncovered the effects of inequality and policy on health outcomes and the urgent measures needed to support hard-hit communities and prevent future tragedies.
