This tweet is very telling, and comes from a very reliable Twitter commentator and source:
What I do not agree with is that this is all to do with vaccine uptake. I think it has also to do with the ability to work from home and that those on lower inco0mes tend to work in more customer-facing situations.
Whatever the cause, and it will be debated I am sure, the consequence is apparent: Covid is a class issue.
This matters. We have a government more than willing to exploit divisions in society. Is their approach already doing that?
And what is Labour doing?
And the SNP, come to that?
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Thanks for highlighting this, it’s important. The inequality was present throughout Covid19. Top 10% increased savings, the lower SES the more people got infected, were hospitalized and the more died. Independent SAGE present graphs based on deprivation every so often, it is consistent variable related to poor outcomes for covid.
I think any pretenses that we belong to a society that aspires to equality, and long and prosperous lives for its citizens. When both of the main political parties have nothing to offer in improving either of these metrics it is hard to believe we’ve got much of a liberal democracy left.
S.N.P/Scottish Government? Quite simple really. I would have hoped, had we had complete control over all policies regarding the Covid 19 Pandemic, indeed, had complete authority over all aspects in the governance of our country, you would see a different outcome.
Would it have been? We’ll never know, as long as Westminster pulls the strings. I believe the S.G has acted responsibly throughout the crisis, that’s not to say they haven’t made mistakes, but given the fact we don’t have absolute power over both this, and other factors, they have had the best of intentions in their efforts to protect the public, no matter their status.
I agree, opposition has been poor.
Perhaps the FT is doing better. Yesterday afternoon’s two top headlines which are still the top two now are…..
“Elite Tory donors club holds secret meetings with Johnson and Sunak”
“Inside Boris Johnson’s money network”
When the money is threatened the FT takes note
Let’s go further.
Do any of our politicians actually care?
Consider their pay grade and lifestyle.
It’s a different world whether you are Tory or Labour and even Green.
Being comfortable seems to anaesthetise empathy in people – that is what I have observed for far too long.
Another stage from failing to failed state. We can still “enjoy” the circus of British gold in the Olympics while many have to get their bread from foodbanks.
Agreed
“What is Labour doing?”
Well, if you mean, Starmer, he has no interest in providing opposition to the Tories, least of all, on issues of class. His project is to turn the Labour party into a facsimile of the U.S. Democrats, where power is concentrated in the hands of its donors. As for the PLP, the vast majority of them have no loyalty, other than to their own advancement.
I think Starmer is an MI5 plant. It should be remembered that he supported the prosecution / demand for Julian Assange’s extradition to USA. That should have been a large red flashing light for everyone in the Labour Party. He has said nothing against the continued incarceration in a high security prison – as America changes the charges as it fails to make any stick. It is an outrage and the UK should not be facilitating it, and Starmer- who is supposed to have been a human rights lawyer should be speaking out. But as on everything else, he remains silent.
I think this hasn’t been said enough times. With a few exceptions (doctors in the less deprived quintiles) those with high occupational exposure to the public and consequent infection risk tend to be the low paid/deprived such as shop workers and waiting staff.
And in many cases they are on contracts which also put them at risk of personal financial loss if they have to isolate.
Agreed
As with other emergencies and disasters the covid epidemic highlights existing inequalities. A study of ICU patients in Scotland (Lancet research paper Feb 2021) looks at the underlying factors and confirms that deprivation is the key variable.
The key variable? Not to downplay the role of deprivation in determining health outcomes – is it clearly an important factor, and I suspect the early focus on ethnicity was more attributable to deprivation rather than underlying genetic factors – but specifically for COVID I’d be surprised if deprivation was more important than age, and I’d expect existing medical vulnerabilities (particularly respiratory problems, such as COPD) to be important too.