Health Secretary says a third of intensive care admissions in the UK at the height of the pandemic were people from Black and ethnic minority backgrounds
Britain’s statistics office has found in the first year of the pandemic, up to March 2021, Black and South Asian people in the UK had higher death rates than their white compatriots. Representation pic
The British government is investigating whether built-in racial bias in some medical devices led to Black and Asian people getting sick and dying disproportionately from COVID-19.
ADVERTISEMENT
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said Sunday that the pandemic had highlighted health disparities along race and gender lines. He said that a third of intensive care admissions in Britain at the height of the pandemic were people from Black and ethnic minority backgrounds, more than double their share of the population.
Britain’s statistics office has found that in the first year of the pandemic, up to March 2021, Black and South Asian people in the UK had higher death rates than their white compatriots, even after factors like occupation and underlying health conditions were taken into account.
Javid said one issue was research showing that pulse oximeters, which measure blood oxygen levels through the skin, work less well on darker skin. He called it a ‘systemic’ worldwide issue.
“Now, I’m not saying this was deliberate by anyone, I think it’s just, it’s a systemic issue potentially, with medical devices and it may go even further than that with medical textbooks, for example,” Javid told Sky News.
He said a UK review, which will also look at gender bias, will report its findings by the end of January. Writing in the Sunday Times, he said “the possibility that a bias, even an inadvertent one, could lead to a poorer health outcome is totally unacceptable.” He said he hoped to work with his US counterpart, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, and officials in other countries, to eliminate bias in the health system.
Dutch police arrest more than 30 amid ongoing unrest
The Dutch police have arrested more than 30 people during unrest in The Hague and other towns in the Netherlands that followed an ‘orgy of violence’ the previous night at a protest against coronavirus restrictions. The violence by groups of youths in The Hague and elsewhere Saturday night wasn’t as serious as Friday night in Rotterdam, where police opened fire on rampaging rioters and arrested 51 people. Police said Sunday that they arrested 19 people in The Hague and used a water cannon to extinguish a fire on a street.
Protests against Belgium’s COVID measures
Thousands of people gathered in central Brussels on Sunday to protest against the reinforced COVID-19 measures that the government has imposed to counter the latest spike in coronavirus cases. Many among them also protested against the strong advice to get vaccinated and any moves to impose mandatory shots.
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
