COVID-19 (Page 60)

Studio 2/Shutterstock We know well by now that coronavirus does not affect everyone equally. In England and Wales, Black people are four times more likely die from COVID-19 than white people, while people from a Bangladeshi background are twice as likely. Coronavirus has also had a disproportionate effect on people experiencing poverty. It’s clear that this disease heightens existing inequalities. Some of the most marginalised people in the UK are Gypsy, Roma Travellers, yet they are often left out of research and outreach programmes. We do not currently know the rates of death and severe illness among these communities. And without better data about their experiences of COVID-19, the true impacts of the pandemic on Gypsy, Roma Travellers could remainContinue Reading

Being kind and compassionate to yourself can help you avoid focusing on your body in an unhealthy way. nelen/Shutterstock As the coronavirus pandemic has spread, a growing number of people have been negatively affected not so much by the virus itself as by the response to it. One such group is those with eating disorders. Recent studies show many with conditions such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder experienced a worsening of symptoms as well as increased anxiety in the early stages of the outbreak. It’s too early to state conclusively the reasons for this, but it’s clear the pandemic and subsequent containment measures have disrupted everyday activities and changed routines. This may have left people feeling outContinue Reading

The chaos caused by coronavirus will last far beyond the discovery of effective medical treatments. Our social and political structures have been tested and, in many instances, found to be unprepared for this pandemic. It is therefore not surprising that questions have been asked of official bodies such as the World Health Organization and, in the UK, Public Health England. The US has announced that it will withdraw from the World Health Organization, and now UK health secretary Matt Hancock has said that the government will replace Public Health England with a new body. Things could have been much worse. SARS-CoV-2 is not as lethal as other epidemic viruses, such as HIV or Ebola. Indeed, the fact that the virusContinue Reading

Chris Redan/Shutterstock Face coverings are now a legal requirement in many public spaces around the world. But even before they became compulsory, masks were causing litter problems on land and at sea. One February beach clean in Hong Kong found 70 masks along 100 metres of shoreline, with 30 more appearing a week later. In the Mediterranean, masks have reportedly been seen floating like jellyfish. Despite millions of people being told to use face masks, little guidance has been given on how to dispose of or recycle them safely. And as countries begin to lift lockdown restrictions, billions of masks will be needed each month globally. Without better disposal practices, an environmental disaster is looming. The majority of masks areContinue Reading

It's possible that changes to the immune system during pregnancy protect parent and child from COVID-19. Syda Productions/Shutterstock Any new infectious disease poses unique challenges to people who are pregnant during an outbreak. The effects of Sars, Zika and influenza in pregnancy highlight the potential immediate and longer term detrimental health outcomes a virus can have for both mother and baby. These risks include premature delivery of the baby with Sars, birth defects with Zika and greater risk of severe influenza. Should we be as worried about pregnancy and COVID-19? There are a number of things we need to think about. These fall into two broad areas related to the effects on the foetus and the effects on the pregnantContinue Reading

photocritical/Shutterstock Wearing face masks on public transport and in shops is now mandatory in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and on public transport in Wales. This poses a difficulty for some people with disabilities, who may have problems with breathing, need to see people’s lips to be able to understand what they are saying, or experience sensory issues which make wearing a mask challenging. The UK government guidance states that people with disabilities are exempt from wearing face coverings, but this exemption has not been well communicated to the public. This leaves people with disabilities vulnerable to harassment and, as such, is a human rights issue. A new barrier Throughout the pandemic, people with disabilities have faced harassment and questioningContinue Reading

Chad Madden/Unsplash, FAL Many people like to say that the coronavirus is teaching us a lesson, as if the pandemic were a kind of morality play that should lead to a change in our behaviour. It shows us that we can make big shifts quickly if we want to. That we can build back better. That social inequality is starkly revealed at times of crisis. That there is a “magic money tree”. The idea that crisis leads to change was also common during the financial crunch over a decade ago, but that didn’t produce any lasting transformations. So will post-COVID life be any different? At the start of lockdown, in the middle of the anxiety and confusion, I started toContinue Reading

Grzegorz Placzek/Shutterstock An article in Science recently generated a lot of interest by providing a possible explanation of why COVID-19 can be deadly to some yet go virtually unnoticed in others. Scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology in California showed that infection with common cold coronaviruses can generate an immune response that resembles key pieces of the immune response generated by SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes COVID-19. This raises the possibility that previous infection with one of the milder coronaviruses could make COVID-19 less severe. But how likely is this? And how does this relate to what we already know about coronaviruses? A few weeks ago, a different article sat at the centre of the SARS-CoV-2 immunity debate.Continue Reading

Coronavirus is causing a spike in unemployment. Shutterstock.com Unemployment is rising sharply in the UK. Large sections of the workforce also face redundancy as the furlough scheme is phased out. It is clear that, without a radical shift in policy, many millions of workers will confront real hardship. We know from research that unemployment has “scarring effects” on workers. Beyond the direct distresses of being out of work, there are long-term penalties in terms of lower well-being and lost earnings. The costs of unemployment, economic as well as human, are severe and require urgent action. Here is where reducing people’s hours, also known as short-time working, could play a role. Jobs could be saved and more people shielded from theContinue Reading

With the slated reopening of schools in the UK around the corner, it’s critical to know if cases of coronavirus are going up. If so, further loosening restrictions could significantly exacerbate the problem. Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, told the press on July 31 that “we have probably reached near the limit or the limits of what we can do in terms of opening up society”. Clearly, Whitty believes that the UK is in a situation where cases might start to rise again – if they haven’t already – given further easing. Whether or not cases are rising should be easy to figure out: just look at the number of positive cases per day and see whetherContinue Reading