Black and Asian people at greater risk from Covid, study finds

A study of 18 million people has found that those from black and Asian backgrounds are at greater risk than white people of catching Covid-19.

The work, in EClinical Medicine, suggests Asian people may also be more likely to need intensive care.

Researchers say their findings are of "urgent public health importance" and raise questions about how vaccines will be prioritised within at-risk groups.

The large analysis adds support to the findings of other recent studies.

There has been mounting evidence that people from ethnic minorities are at greater risk from Covid-19, but whether the risks centre around a higher likelihood of catching the disease or suffering more severe illness from the virus, is not fully understood.

Researchers at the Universities of Leicester and Nottingham examined data from 50 studies - 42 from the United States and eight from the UK - to understand more.

They found:

Lead researcher Dr Manish Pareek says there are many explanations behind the heightened risk, including people from ethnic minority groups being more likely to be employed in front-line roles and more likely to live as large households with several generations.

He added that so far he had seen little evidence to suggest the risks were driven by genetic factors.

He said he hoped the findings would be taken into account in discussions about prioritising vaccines for people already considered to be at high risk - such as older people and people working in healthcare settings who are also from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Meanwhile Dr Shirley Sze, fellow lead researcher, said: "The clear evidence of increased risk of infection among ethnic minority groups is of urgent public health importance - we must work to minimise exposure to the virus in these at-risk groups by facilitating their timely access to healthcare resources and target the social and structural disparities that contribute to health inequalities."

The researchers suggest "racism and structural discrimination may also contribute to an increased risk of worse clinical outcomes within ethnic minority communities".

It comes after a scientific adviser to the government suggested racism did not explain the increased risk to ethnic minorities and said ethnicity should no longer be used to judge whether people are at greater risk from the virus.

Dr Raghib Ali said focusing on underlying factors, such as jobs and housing, would help more people overall.