BAME Covid deaths report ‘does not answer real questions’
A REPORT which confirms ethnic minorities are at higher risk of dying from coronavirus was not set up to answer “the real questions”, say Asian business leaders in Birmingham.
This week’s Public Health England report said BAME (black asian minority ethnic) individuals were up to twice as likely to die from the virus than those from a white British background.
It revealed that, after accounting for the effect of sex, age, deprivation and region, people of Bangladeshi ethnicity were found to have around twice the risk of death.
Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, other Asian, Caribbean and other black ethnicities had between a 10 per cent and 50 per cent greater risk of dying. However, factors such as occupation were not taken into account.
But Anjum Khan, director of the Asian Business Chamber of Commerce, said: “It’s clear that this report isn’t telling us anything we didn’t already know in terms of Covid mirroring and exacerbating existing inequality in society. It’s not just a report on BAME, it’s on all risk factors.
“We all need to understand the contributing factors in regards to the BAME community. The report didn’t or wasn’t setup to answer the real questions as to why. Black Asian Minority Ethnic lives matter and that is exactly why the report needed to be published so we can avoid future preventable BAME deaths. “Holding back the evidence is not what was causing tension – refusing to acknowledge and fix the problem is.”
Dal Darroch, an Asian Business Chamber executive committee member and head of diversity and inclu- sion at the Football Association, says the report does not address the “whys and solutions”.
He said: “There seems to be a direct link between BAME communities and Covid-19. The report, however, does not explain why or highlight any workable solutions.
“The biggest factors for risk are age, gender, deprivation. The statistics, however, when you drill into ethnicity clearly show that all BAME communities are at risk.
“The analysis considers occupation only to an extent – generally it’s not a defining factor although the link between BAME communities and public-facing roles explains the trend to some degree – hospitality, retail, social services, etc. There are two things that require more analysis – occupation and comorbidities.
“We need to better understand the link between occupation and Covid19, as well as the extent of comorbidities and Covid-19.
“The report does not address the whys and solutions. It does not address any racial or systemic bias in traditional structures across the employment and social ecosystem.
“Of course, any systemic inequalities will exacerbate the impact on BAME communities and it is only alluded to in the report.”