The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic was a rude wake-up call that the world is still getting over. The UK has been hit hard by this pandemic. Vaccines and cheap Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests have been made available in the UK and other countries through testing within communities and before and after travel. There’s no doubt that this has helped stop the virus from spreading. But, despite everyone’s best efforts, it looks like testing isn’t the same in all parts of the UK. It is not too surprising that COVID-19 testing is the hardest to get for the people who are most affected by the pandemic. While private businesses and schools have started testing their employees and students, small businesses and public schools have no choice but to depend on the state.
Even though health care and health inequalities have long been discussed, they have worsened. In the UK, where there were already a lot of deaths, the Coronavirus pandemic made things worse for people with health problems. During the Coronavirus pandemic, more people died and got sick in Northern England than elsewhere in the UK.
All health inequalities, especially those related to COVID-19 testing, have a root cause. Some factors are education, employment, socioeconomic status, social support systems, the physical environment, race, and access to good health care. So, it’s clear that the main things that affect health are social factors. For example, a child born into a family with little or no education is likely to live in a not-so-healthy neighbourhood.
Even though healthcare is essential, immigrants are more worried about being deported and the shame of it. Limited English Proficiency (LEP) can be a problem because it can make it hard to talk about how the virus is spreading. Also, because many of them do important jobs, they may be more likely to get hurt. They should be able to use inexpensive PCR tests and maybe even have their own home test kits.
People of all ages in the UK don’t have health insurance. Most of them have jobs that don’t pay much. They should be allowed to take the COVID-19 tests home, especially the older ones. People of colour seem to have more trouble than white people getting tested. The pandemic affected black people and other people of colour in London, showing how healthcare differs for different races.
The number of homeless people in the UK shows how unequal health care is there. Some people who are supposed to be essential but aren’t are listed below. Because this group can’t get cheap PCR tests, the number of infections keeps increasing.
It is interesting to see that many countries affected by the pandemic have very little access to COVID-19 testing and are also reluctant to go for tests or even get vaccines when they are finally made available. People from these groups may have had and continue to have bad experiences with medical professionals, so they are wary of them.
The effects of Coronavirus in the UK and the steps taken to stop it from spreading have and will continue to have different effects on these groups.
The UK government has the chance to take careful steps to limit or stop the effects of the pandemic on these socially disadvantaged groups that are vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus. The governments should make testing available in every state in the country. People from these socially disadvantaged groups should also be more involved in making decisions to improve trust in the medical system. Economic and social rehabilitation will be significantly aided if these measures are implemented.
