By Tony O’Riley-
Covid-19 infections among the homeless has seen more than double the cases in January alone compared with the whole of 2020, according to a research from the University College Of London(UCL).
UCL Hospitals’ Find and Treat’ outreach team recorded 127 positive Covid-19 cases among people experiencing homelessness from 18 outbreaks in the first month of 2021.
The figures rose by more than 7 times from December to January alone from 17 cases recorded before the new year up to 127.
Homeless people are more prone to the coronavirus than other groups, because of their poor lifestyle, and the fact many of them have underlying issues.
High rates of mental health issues are also common among the homeless, many of whom congregate to share crack pipes and cannabis. The homeless also tend not to be very bothered about the pandemic, and don’t generally take much precautions.
Binta Sultan, a doctoral fellow at the UCL Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, shared the figures on Twitter, saying a vaccination was “urgently needed for people affected by homelessness” after the “explosion in cases & outbreaks”.
The statistics has increased calls for the homeless to be offered priority access to a Covid-19 vaccine. More of the homeless have underlying health conditions, leaving them vulnerable to the virus, and the average age of death is typically around the age of 45.
Oldham and Redbridge Council have together vaccinated nearly 100 homeless people this month alone.
The British government has pumped a lot of money into housing the homeless right from the start of the pandemic, but not all homeless people have been housed. Many councils have strict requirements for those in search of accommodation to show some kind of connection with the area before they can benefit from government funding to help the homeless.