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Black men in England and Wales 3x more likely to die from COVID-19 — National Office of Statistics

Black men in England and Wales are three times more likely to die from COVID-19 than white men, The Guardian reports that the Office of National Statistics has found. The study, which covered deaths in hospitals and in the community between 2 March and 15 May, found black men had the highest mortality rate from the disease. Among black men of all ages the death rate was 256 per 100,000 people, compared with 87 deaths per 100,000 for white men.

When comparing death rates for younger males between nine and 64 years of age, the discrepancy was even starker, with black males more than four times more likely to die than their white counterparts.

When researchers adjusted for population density, socio-demographic factors and region, they found black men were still twice as likely to die as white men, while for black women the risk was 1.4 times higher.

The Guardian says a delayed report into increased COVID-19 mortality among BAME people was published by Public Health England last week. The report found racism could have been a factor in high death rates among BAME people, who may be less likely to seek out hospital care or speak up when they have concerns about personal protective equipment (PPE) or increased risk.

The ONS analysis also found that Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian men had a higher chance of dying than white males.

Similar trends were seen among black and Asian women, although the difference in mortality rates between women of different ethnic groups was not as pronounced as among men. Black women were twice as likely to die from COVID-19 as white women, who had the lowest risk of dying.

 

[link url="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jun/19/black-men-england-wales-three-times-more-likely-die-covid-19-coronavirus"]Full report in The Guardian[/link]

[link url="https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/coronaviruscovid19relatedmortalitybyreligionethnicityanddisabilityenglandandwales2march2020to15may2020"]ONS figures[/link]

[link url="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/892376/COVID_stakeholder_engagement_synthesis_beyond_the_data.pdf"]PHE report[/link]

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