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The continuing impact of COVID-19 on health and inequalities

  • Area of Work: The ALLIANCE
  • Type: News Item
  • Published: 31st August 2022

New report looks at the direct impact of COVID-19 on health outcomes and the broader implications for health and the wider determinants.

The Health Foundation has published a new report, ‘The continuing impact of COVID-19 on health and inequalities’ (this link will take you away from our website).

In 2021, the Health Foundation published its COVID-19 impact inquiry (this link will take you away from our website), which provided an initial assessment of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health and health inequalities during its first year. It highlighted that the pandemic had a disproportionate impact on different population groups.

The new report revisits the conclusions of the 2021 report to consider the further direct impact of COVID-19 on health outcomes and the broader implications for health and the wider determinants.

Some of the key findings are outlined below:

Direct effects on health

  • The absolute number of COVID-19 deaths has reduced, but there is still a significant gap in the risk of dying from COVID-19 between people from the most and least deprived areas.
  • The UK experienced a relatively fast and early vaccine rollout. However, vaccination rates are lower for those living in the most deprived areas than in the least deprived areas, for those whose first language is not English, and for those from minority ethnic groups.
  • People with health conditions, living in more deprived areas, and older people are more likely to have Long Covid.

Indirect effects on health

  • The COVID-19 pandemic has driven increased demand for health care, growing waiting lists and a substantial elective care backlog, while impacting negatively on staff wellbeing and absence.
  • Measures of wellbeing have improved since the first year of the pandemic, but have not returned to pre-pandemic levels.
  • Other risk factors for ill health – such as alcohol, tobacco and obesity – may have worsened and inequalities widened since 2020.

In addition to the direct and indirect impacts of COVID-19 on our health and wellbeing, the pandemic has also had a significant impact on the wider (social) determinants of health. The report highlights three key areas affected by COVID-19 that are potential risks to future health:

  • Education and lost learning
  • Employment and economic inactivity
  • Income and family finances

Read the full report (this link will take you away from our website).

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