By Gabriel Princewill-
The Covid inquiry has been urged to avoid its earlier echoing that black and ethnic minorities were more likely to catch covid 19 and die from it, after the inquiry’s lead Lawyer Hugo Keith stated this in his opening statement on Tuesday.
The Honourable Baroness Hallet MBE, was been contacted by this publication on Wednesday, and urged to address the misconception as part of the inquiry, and discourage a repetition of the claim, but rather have it adjusted to the statement that a higher percentage of those who died of the virus were black or ethnic minorities.
Baroness Hallet, who was the first woman to be appointed Vice-President of the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) and first woman to chair the Bar Council, is chairing the Covid inquiry.
The Covid inquiry was approached on Wednesday over its latest echoing of previous pronouncements that black and ethnic minorities were more likely to catch covid 19 and die from it, after the inquiry’s lead Lawyer, Hugo Keith QC stated this in his opening statement on Tuesday.
The reference to a broad classification of people having a higher propensity of dying from covid to ethnic minorities, who constitute a comprehensive classification of people was flagged up as problematic on Tuesday, after being raised once in 2022.
The query follows complaints from concerned parties who have called for the statement to be revoked, though the more probable goal is a call for the avoidance of its repetition, given the offence it causes, atop the potential marginalization of that group of people.
Critics of the sweeping generalisation have questioned the veracity of the claim on the grounds that survival rates in predominantly black countries like Africa and the Caribbean were high during the pandemic, and particularly had relatively lower death rates than in Europe. They emphasise that the label does not fit the claim if people in black countries were not dying like flies.
Some experts examining the theory have questioned whether it is possible deaths were not as widespread in Africa because the virus cannot survive much in hot weather, its weakness being that people were still recorded as dying from the virus in the Uk during the summer period, and provided deaths were still occurring in black countries, they should have occurred at a high level.
A number of aggrieved parties have challenged what they assert as a misconception, arguing that it perpetuates racial stereotypes, and is not corroborated by any sustainable scientific fact.
Questionable Assertions
Most of the inadvertent propagators of this theory are believed to have been echoing questionable assertions that began from U.S scientists acting on behalf of the U.S government , but objectively fails to stand up to proper scrutiny, leading to strident calls for the misrepresentations to be jettisoned.
Scientists sought to buttress the highly disputed label by citing a deficiency of vitamin D in black people requiring more sunlight to shield them from the deadly effects of the virus.
The claim, which was spread by U.S journalists was premised on the notion that low levels of Vitamin D makes black people and ethnic minorities more susceptible to catching Covid, and dying from the virus.
But this theory has been challenged on the basis that where deaths across all races were notably high, it becomes a tenuous argument to suggest a higher vulnerability for one group than the other without demonstrating this with reliable figures that indicate a notable golf in the statistical number of deaths between the races such that raises sufficient alarm.
In fact, Havard University published a contrary view in October 2022, weakening the authenticity of the original claim.
Misconceived
Dissenters of what is now perceived as a misconceived statement, point out that other explanations have been provided to explain why a greater proportion of those who died of covid were ethnic minorities, and insist that this fact is not tantamount to a sweeping generalisation that black people were more likely to catch the virus or die or of it.
They point to the fact that the vast majority of doctors who caught the virus and died of it, were on the front line of the Nhs, given the predominant number of minorities in the medical field. It was a well-established fact that structural inequalities predisposed some victims to greater susceptibility, and many victims of the virus who died were doctors on the front line.
Occupational disparities and economic inequalities in society were also highlighted as strong indicators of some of the reasons a higher percentage of deaths from ethnic minorities were recorded.
The superimposed statement attributing higher vulnerability of death to ethnic minorities therefore does not appear to lend weight to the view that black people were more likely to die simply because a higher proportion of a selected cohort of that group were recorded to have died, any more than a higher number of white people convicted for drugs in a predominantly white area does not mean white people are more likely to deal in drugs than any other race.
Appropriate
Most analysts who have examined this potentially controversial issue agree that a more appropriate statement would have been that of those recorded to have died of Covid from the medical field or the populace, more were black, and of ethnic minority. And that;s if it can be supported with irrefutable evidence.
This statement is considered distinctively different from erroneously labelling a whole race as being more susceptible to dying from the virus where the statement is not fully representative of that classification of people. It is also worth noting that no fact based statistics has of yet been provided to support this statement.
The circulating statement was the source of much debate outside of the public limelight during the pandemic , with this publication challenging Kemi Bademoch, who was minister for Equality at the time about it in October 2022.
Kemi Bademoch was Equality Minister During misconceived label of Covid virus on minorities
The then Equality Minister did not respond to our communication at the time, and is likely to be dragged into the row as part of our examination on this matter.
Insulting
Lecturer and researcher of Policy Studies at University of Bristol lecturer of Sociology, Dr , Admore Tsuma, told The Eye Of Media.Com: ” actually the label is very insulting for ethnic minorities. It is surprising that the government did not seek to examine or challenge the view by ethnic minorities.
Only comprehensive research of all the black people in the UK, with a view to ascertaining the proportion that has been infected or died from Covid-19 can come close to providing a credible conclusion about their susceptibility to the virus, or the stated higher death rates in that demography.
”People should ask why the supposed higher propensity of black and ethnic minority people dying has not been witnessed in black countries where the death rates are comparatively low despite being grossly neglected in the provision of the vaccines.
”Apart from the reasons offered for a higher proportion of deaths in the black community that include geographical, social and economic factors, more black people have been placed in the front line to work in hospitals to attend to Covid patients. Doctors and nurses from at least, African countries have even continued to be imbued to the Uk throughout the pandemic.
”People should ask why the supposed higher propensity of black and ethnic minority people dying has not been witnessed in black countries where the death rates are comparatively low, despite being grossly neglected in the provision of the vaccines”.
”Only comprehensive research of all the black people in the UK, with a view to ascertaining the proportion that has been infected or died from Covid-19 can come close to providing a credible conclusion about their susceptibility to the virus, or the stated higher death rates in that demography.
”Apart from the reasons offered for a higher proportion of deaths in the black community that include geographical, social and economic factors, more black people have been placed in the front line to work in hospitals to attend to Covid patients. Doctors and nurses from at least, African countries have even continued to be imbued to the Uk throughout the pandemic.
” it is essential to recognize that race or ethnicity alone does not determine an individual’s susceptibility to the virus. Social determinants of health, such as socioeconomic status, access to healthcare, living conditions, and employment opportunities, interact with racial dynamics, leading to a complex web of disparities.
Evidence
No evidence substantiating an increased probability of death among minorities arising from the virus has ever been presented.
”Even if statistical evidence were to be shown to support the view that more of those who died from Covid 19 were black and ethnic minority, in situation where there are thousands of deaths, it is of no relevance which racial group suffers more deaths in terms of establishing vulnerability to the disease.
”It’s like trying to decide which race is more prone to having murderers by comparing the number of murderers in each race. Once it is established they are astronomically high in each race, there becomes no logical or factual basis for trying to establish a higher vulnerability to murder in one race than the other”.
The specific cause was always going to be an important factor.
Nhs worker Amber Smart said: ”the narrative perpetuates stereotypes and oversimplifies the experiences of these diverse communities. The impact of the virus varies within racial and ethnic groups, and generalizations can erase the experiences of individuals who do not fit into the narrative.
”The statement is careless, and fails to consider the overall potential impact on minorities, and for that reason the origin of the statement can arguably have been premeditated for the sake of subconsciously subjugating minorities and further putting them at a disadvantage of discrimination. Its continuation should be resisted and discouraged because of its overall ramifications’
It is crucial to recognize the heterogeneity within these communities, including differences in age, gender, geographic location, and pre-existing health conditions, which contribute to variations in COVID-19 outcomes.”