The Health Foundation - The continuing impact of Covid-19 on health and inequalities (24 August 2022)

Summary

This report revisits the conclusions of The Health Foundation's Covid-19 impact enquiry, which found that poor health and existing inequalities had left parts of the UK more vulnerable to the virus and had influenced its devastating impact. A year on from the impact inquiry, more than 90% of the UK population have had at least one Covid-19 infection, and 74% of adults had received three vaccinations by April 2022. This report considers:

• the further direct impact of Covid-19 on health outcomes.
• the broader implications for social determinants of health.
• the extent to which previously highlighted risks to health have been addressed.
• the implications for the country of ‘living with Covid-19’.

Content

Key points

• Inequalities in Covid-19 mortality persist with mortality rates three to four times higher in the most deprived areas. However, the overall number of Covid-19 deaths is now significantly lower than it was during the first year of the pandemic.
• The vaccination programme has been key to reducing Covid-19 mortality rates, but for some groups uptake is still low, especially for people living in poorer areas and people from some minority ethnic groups.
• The significant deterioration in mental health during the first year of the pandemic has been reversing but has not entirely returned to pre-pandemic levels. Data suggest that anxiety remains heightened, especially among women. People are likely to be less resilient to cope with the stress associated with financial strain in the growing cost-of-living crisis.
• A large rise in unemployment was avoided, largely due to government support through the furlough scheme. However, long-term health conditions are keeping a significant number of people out of work, representing an ongoing challenge for government and the economy, as well as for individuals.
• There has been a failure to act on education gaps due to lost learning time in the pandemic. These are between children from richer and poorer backgrounds and compared with previous cohorts. A cohort of ‘left-behind’ children face significant risks to their long-term health and living standards, as well as causing a long-term economic cost to the country.