Non-Irish Covid patients five times more likely to need ICU admission during first pandemic wave, study finds

Non-Irish Covid-19 patients were five times more likely to require intensive care than Irish patients, according to a study of admissions to a Dublin hospital during the first wave of the pandemic.

Patients from all ethnic groups other than white Irish presented for treatment at a younger age and suffered more serious disease, the study by doctors at Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown found.

On average, they were a decade younger than white Irish patients, despite having fewer underlying health conditions such as high blood pressure or smoking.

As well as being more likely to require ICU admission, they had to stay in hospital longer.

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The reasons for these disparities are “likely complex but remain concerning”, according to the study published in the Irish Journal of Medical Science.

The authors acknowledged there are many limitations to the study, starting with its small sample size. Some 116 patients admitted to the hospital with Covid-19 between March and May 2020 were examined. More than half (53 per cent) identified as white Irish.

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The authors say it is already well established that ethnic minorities face greater difficulty accessing healthcare services compared to majority populations. They are more likely to live in deprived areas and overcrowded, urban housing, and to work in lower-paid jobs with increased risk of Covid-19 transmission.

The authors were unable to find any similar Irish data for comparison, but cite a recent US study evaluating Covid-19 outcomes which reached similar conclusions in relation to a Hispanic population in California.

“The comparability of our findings is suggestive of a problem that is not unique to Ireland, but likely to any society where minority populations may have unequal access to healthcare or face the consequences of other social determinants of health such as social exclusion or lack of appropriate education.”

Meanwhile, research at the University of Oxford shows that Irish people living in England are less likely to get vaccinated against Covid-19 than English people.

They are also less likely to get vaccinated against the virus than Irish people living in Ireland, said Brian McKenna, research pharmacist at the University of Oxford.

The findings are based on analysis of the national health service (NHS) records of 57 million people in England, including 200,000 Irish people, using a data platform built by a team led by Mr McKenna.

In 2021, earlier findings of lower vaccination coverage in the Irish community England led to the setting up of the Vaccine Le Chéile campaign by voluntary groups, aimed at increasing uptake. The latest findings show that while Covid-19 vaccine uptake among Irish people living in England is below average, it is higher than in other large ethnic groups, he pointed out.

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