Are ethnic minorities still more likely to get Covid?

Is there a genetic element to the risk of being infected with Covid — and are some disadvantaged ethnic groups more vulnerable to the virus? This was once one of the most controversial questions about Covid — asked often during the first and second waves of the pandemic when it became apparent that infection and death rates were higher among some ethnic groups than others (a government report was published at the time). Among the factors discussed were the tendency of black and Asian Britons to work in exposed, public-facing roles such as in transport, their greater presence in crowded, inner-city districts and the greater prevalence of multi-generational households among some groups. Another factor was the vaccination gap, with ethnic minorities being far less likely to be jabbed.

Yet a new Office for National Statistics analysis comparing the second and third Covid waves shows something interesting: this time, white Britons were more likely to be infected.