Andrew Hayward - February 17, 2021

Andrew Hayward, MBBS, BSc, MSc, DTMH, MD, FPHM, FRSB, Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Inclusion Health Research, University College London, London, UK, Coronavirus and Inequalities

Dr. Hayward’s research displayed that the coronavirus impacted people's lives differently across the population. -19 affected the industrialized or “richest” countries more than the countries with low per capita income. The pandemic caused employment loss, and about 144 million jobs were lost globally as the peak number. The pandemic caused 23% of work hours lost on average, which was four times higher than that in the 2009 economic crisis. The GDP decrease of a country in percentage related to the deaths per million.

COVID-19 inequalities started at the social and BAME (black, Asian, minority ethnic group) imbalances, which more likely cause overcrowding multigenerational households, lack of opportunity to work from home, sharing transport, and occupational exposure. Those factors further led to high infection rates and mortality dynamically. Based on Michael Marmot's report, in England, the COVID-19 mortality rates were positively correlated to the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) rank. The more deprived quintile in the population, the higher the positive case and death rate. Also, the mortality rate of people with different occupations may be dramatically different. The lower-income and low-skill workers were more likely to lose employment and income. The working hours were similarly reduced in the UK (-18%) and the USA (-16%). The loss of labor income and employment in the UK was much lower than in the US because of the UK's vital support programs and simulation packages. A study in France showed that the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was much higher in people with sharing room and bathroom. In the UK, the government moved homelessness into the disused hotel accommodation. The pandemic also induced the vaccine development race. However, up to February 6, 2021, the global vaccine distribution was not satisfactory, while some countries had not started vaccination yet. WHO started the COVAX program for global equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. Back to the individuals, the vaccine hesitance still impacted the public for vaccine protection. The lower-income community had a lower level of "vaccine trust" and would have a lower vaccination rate.