Sat 20 June 2020:
Muslim males have the highest rates of death involving Covid-19 among all religious groups, with a risk of dying that is 2.5 times higher than males who have no religion, new analysis suggests.
The age-adjusted mortality rate for Muslim males in England and Wales during the first few months of the coronavirus outbreak was 198.9 deaths per 100,000 people, and for females 98.2 deaths per 100,000.
By contrast, those identifying with “no religion” – based on responses in the 2011 Census – had the lowest rate of death involving Covid-19, with 80.7 deaths per 100,000 males and 47.9 deaths per 100,000 females.
The figures have been published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and cover deaths that occurred in England and Wales between March 2 and May 15.
They suggest the risk of dying from Covid-19 is higher among those identifying as Muslims, Jewish, Hindu and Sikh than other religious groups.
Responding to the findings, ONS head of life events Nick Stripe said: “For the most part the elevated risk of certain religious groups is explained by geographical, socio-economic and demographic factors and increased risks associated with ethnicity.
“However, after adjusting for the above, Jewish males are at twice the risk of Christian males, and Jewish women are also at higher risk. Additional data and analyses are required to understand this excess risk.”
Harun Khan, the secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said the ONS findings should be an opportunity for the UK government to find solutions to the disproportionate number of Muslim deaths.
“Today’s ONS figures confirm what Muslim communities, academics and health-care professionals have been saying for months: that we are dying of Covid at disproportionate rates, and that the root cause of this must be addressed in order to prevent the further unnecessary loss of life,” Khan said in a statement.
“Yet, the UK Government continues to obfuscate the problem, denying the role institutional racism plays in creating health inequalities, failing to tailor the public policy to the needs of different communities and overseeing the excess deaths of British Muslims.”
These findings coincide with other statistics that have shown Black and Asian people in England and Wales are also at higher risk from Covid-19.
Last week, a leaked report from Public Health England (PHE) showed that factors including racism and social inequality may contribute to the increased risk of Black, Asian and minority communities catching and dying from Covid-19.
A second report from PHE found that “historic racism and poorer experiences of health care” meant that individuals in BAME groups were also less likely to seek care when needed.
Religion is not recorded on somebody’s death certificate, so the ONS used information from the 2011 Census to determine religious group and other demographic factors.
The analysis was restricted to those aged nine and over, because children under nine would not have been born at the time of the last Census.
As with the separate figures for religion, this data covers deaths that occurred in England and Wales between March 2 and May 15.
Males of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian ethnic background also had a significantly higher risk of death involving Covid-19 than white males, the ONS found.
For females in Bangladeshi or Pakistani, Indian, Chinese and mixed ethnic groups, the risk of death involving Covid-19 was equivalent to white females.
Mr Stripe said: “Analysis continues to show that people from a black ethnic background are at a greater risk of death involving Covid-19 than all other ethnic groups.
“Adjusting for socio-economic factors and geographical location partly explains the increased risk, but there remains twice the risk for black males and around one-and-a-half times for black females. Significant differences also remain for Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian men.
“The ONS will continue to research this unexplained increased risk of death, examining the impact of other health conditions.”
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