The pandemic has exacerbated existing inequalities, making disadvantaged groups more likely to face life-or-death in hospital with a serious course of illness. This is the conclusion of a new study.
Author: Christine Wanner
20.08.2024, 06:55
Anyone who believes that everyone is equal in the face of a virus is wrong: social situation, living situation and occupation shape the course of the disease – this is the conclusion of a new study on the corona pandemic in Switzerland. It shows that the pandemic has exacerbated existing inequalities, so that disadvantaged groups are more likely to struggle for life and death in hospital with a serious course of the disease than others.
Lucy Bayer from the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland has now proven for Switzerland what international studies have suggested: “Our study shows that socially disadvantaged groups are particularly likely to become so seriously ill with Covid-19 that they had to be hospitalized.” The reason: Various risks for a serious course of the disease were more likely to occur in this group. Bayer gives an example: “They have a low level of education. In addition, there is a serious pre-existing condition and exposure in their job.” However, the study shows that each of these risk factors also increased the risk of serious illness, Bayer continues.
Epidemiologist von Wyl on the study:
Open box Close box
Legend: ZVG / University of Zurich
Viktor von Wyl is an assistant professor at the Institute of Epidemiology at the University of Zurich, where he focuses on the topic of digital health. He has also been the scientific director of the Swiss MS Registry since 2014.
SRF News: What do you think of the study?
Victor von Wyl: This study is fundamentally very well done and one of the first to comprehensively analyze social inequalities and Covid-19. What surprised me are exposure risks such as cramped living conditions. We have not been able to measure this in Switzerland before. We suspected other aspects. For example, that professional background is also associated with different risks. In that sense, it is a confirmation, also in part, of what we already suspected.
Can the following statement be generalized: Greater risk of exposure to the virus plus poorer health status means more severe courses of the disease?
So if there are pre-existing conditions, then the diagnosis or prognosis for other subsequent conditions is usually worse. It is not always clear to what extent socioeconomic factors play a role. Education certainly also plays a role. In other words, the extent to which someone has health literacy or how competently they navigate the health system.
At the beginning of the pandemic, there was an increased risk of becoming infected in all the so-called system-relevant jobs with low incomes, fixed attendance times and little flexibility in hospitals, in retirement and nursing homes, in grocery stores, in daycare centers, and in cleaning jobs. In such jobs, the risk of a serious course of the disease was 30 percent higher than in jobs with the option of working from home. For teachers, however, there was no higher risk, according to the study.
Pandemic exacerbated existing inequalities
In addition to education, the living situation also played a role. Close quarters or children significantly increased the risk of hospitalization. According to the study, inequalities temporarily increased further during the pandemic, namely at the time when vaccination was available for the risk groups. Author Lucy Bayer explains: “During this time, people with a low level of education probably had more difficulty with online registration procedures or were less flexible in booking vaccination appointments, as they often work in jobs that require attendance and fixed working hours.”
These findings must be taken into account in the future. For example, in addition to targeted information, adapted protective measures and vaccination options in the workplace are needed.
