{"id":1747,"date":"2021-06-07T11:03:29","date_gmt":"2021-06-07T11:03:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/horizon.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=1747"},"modified":"2021-06-07T11:03:29","modified_gmt":"2021-06-07T11:03:29","slug":"how-vulnerable-groups-were-left-behind-in-pandemic-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1747\/how-vulnerable-groups-were-left-behind-in-pandemic-response\/","title":{"rendered":"How vulnerable groups were left behind in pandemic response"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n

Viruses like Covid-19 make no distinction between those they infect. They should in theory cause disease in the rich just as they do the poor and pay no heed to social status or cultural background. But in practice the pandemic has widened the gulf between vulnerable groups and other populations in Europe rather than helping to level out inequalities in society, researchers warn.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n

People who were marginalised before the coronavirus appeared \u2013 such as migrants, poorer communities and disabled people \u2013 were disproportionately impacted by the lockdowns and other responses deployed to tackle the health crisis.<\/p>\n

\u2018The overall consensus is that the fault lines in society were made more obvious and in many cases deepened during the pandemic,\u2019 said Jil Molenaar, a researcher at the Centre for Migration and Intercultural Studies at the University of Antwerp, Belgium. She is part of the\u00a0COVINFORM<\/a>\u00a0project, which is examining how the pandemic and the response measures put in place to tackle it have impacted vulnerable communities.<\/p>\n

\u2018At the beginning there was some talk that this crisis would be a great equaliser as the virus could infect anyone, but now it is agreed this was definitely not the case,\u2019 said Molenaar. She and her colleagues are reviewing the response by governments, public health authorities and community organisations in 15 countries, then combining this with fieldwork and in-depth interviews with people from vulnerable populations, such as ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants or those on lower incomes.<\/p>\n

They have found that while most of the official advice on Covid-19, such as who should isolate and vaccination priorities, has focused on medical vulnerability to the virus \u2013 such as in the elderly or those with chronic illnesses. Advice tended to overlook those whose socioeconomic position, immigration status or language abilities meant they were disproportionately affected by other aspects of the pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u2018If you are thinking more broadly than just exposure to the virus, people with chronic illnesses are more likely to suffer from delays and disruption to ordinary routine care caused by the pandemic,\u2019 said Molenaar. \u2018People who were already living in poverty have also been disproportionately hit because of the economic crisis that has resulted.\u2019<\/p>\n

Children<\/strong><\/p>\n

Those from poorer communities with children were particularly hard hit when schools were closed during the lockdowns in different countries. Many families relied upon school meals to help provide adequate, nutritious food for their children. Those who could not afford laptops were also unable to take part in online lessons that were used to replace many classes.<\/p>\n

\u2018Children who did not have the same equipment as other children in their class were being left behind,\u2019 said Dr Tina Comes, associate professor on designing resilience at TU Delft. She is part of the\u00a0HERoS project<\/a>, which has been modelling the impact of different responses to the Covid-19 crisis to help inform future decision making by local, national and international authorities in Europe.<\/p>\n

Dr Comes said that the models clearly show that the ‘mixing that normally happens in a society’ has been greatly reduced during the pandemic. This segregation can have serious implications. \u2018Children who were speaking a second language (for example) were suddenly not mixing with others outside their own families, so they began losing those language skills again,\u2019 said Dr Comes.<\/p>\n

The way governments and health authorities chose to communicate with communities also unwittingly led to some groups being disadvantaged, the researchers say. Early results from a survey run in the Hague, in the Netherlands by Dr Carissa Champlin and Mikhail Sirenko as part of the HERoS project found that non-native Dutch speakers tended not to engage with information on television as their main source of information. This might be because those who did not speak Dutch well struggled to understand the complex information conveyed in official press conferences, says Dr Comes.<\/p>\n

Instead, non-native Dutch speakers made primary use of the internet to get information – about 41% said they used the internet compared to 20% who used TV, while 36% of Dutch speakers used television as their main information source.<\/p>\n

\u2018If you don’t have the same access to information, perhaps because it is not easy for you to follow a Dutch press conference, you may look elsewhere,\u2019 she said. This could have led people finding information from unreliable sources. It also\u00a0led to new forms of ‘digital inequality’<\/a>\u00a0among those who did not have the same level of access to online information or computers, said Dr Comes. ‘Governments should not exclusively focus on one channel but take into account that a heterogeneous population can only be reached by using a plethora of tailored and online channels.’<\/p>\n

Undocumented<\/strong><\/p>\n

Language barriers were not the only problem faced by some immigrant communities, however. Undocumented migrants and refugees, for example, are considered vulnerable due to their legal status in the country where they live. Without official documents or health service numbers, it can then become difficult to access essential services and medical care.<\/p>\n

\u2018This is becoming quite relevant in the vaccination programmes now as there is a risk people will be left out,\u2019 said Molenaar.<\/p>\n

Access to vital services was also severely restricted by lockdown measures. Dr Comes and her colleagues compared three different neighbourhoods in The Hague, in the Netherlands, and found that as people were restricted to their neighbourhoods, their access to urban services such as education and support structures varied between income groups \u2013 either because of the type of transport they had available or because of digital literacy issues as services shifted online.<\/p>\n

\u2018There were a lot of overlapping issues,\u2019 said Dr Comes. \u2018The people who were disproportionately affected tended to do jobs that meant they couldn\u2019t work from home, but they also have bigger families, more care responsibilities for children and face language barriers. Often these communities are very tight knit, so they are helping each other out in a network, but that was taken away by the lockdowns as people were not supposed to visit each other.\u2019<\/p>\n

And this widening of inequality within societies around Europe is likely to persist for some time even after the pandemic subsides. Those children that have fallen behind fellow classmates in education because they struggled to access lessons online, for example, could suffer the effects of this later in life unless they are offered additional support to catch up, says Molenaar. The economic effects of the pandemic are also likely to reverberate for longer than the virus itself, and\u00a0unemployment will hit those on lower incomes harder<\/a>\u00a0than those who earn more.<\/p>\n

‘There is no easy way to address these longer term effects with single top-down solutions,’ said Molenaar. ‘The key would be for policy makers and authorities to shift from paternalistic strategies \u2013 based on assumptions that “we know what is best for you” \u2013 to bottom-up strategies that prioritise participation and representation, to actively engage with different groups in society and respect their agency in knowing what works for them.’<\/p>\n

\u2018Many of the pandemic preparedness plans that existed before Covid-19 didn\u2019t have details about how the responses could address the needs of different vulnerable groups.\u2019<\/p>\n

Jil Molenaar, University of Antwerp, Belgium<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Learning disabilities<\/strong><\/p>\n

One group that has been particularly hard hit by the virus are those with learning disabilities. In some countries, such as the UK, death rates among people with learning disabilities were\u00a0six times higher<\/a>\u00a0than in the general population in the first wave of coronavirus.<\/p>\n

\u2018In the data we have today, there is good evidence that people with disabilities and especially those with intellectual and learning disabilities, are being quite badly hit by Covid-19,\u2019 said Dr Jessica Dimka, a biological anthropologist at Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway.<\/p>\n

Dr Dimka has been studying how the 1918 influenza pandemic \u2013 which claimed more than 50 million lives as it swept around the world \u2013 impacted disabled people. Her project,\u00a0DIS2<\/a>\u00a0has been using historical records from mental health institutions in Norway alongside data on people with disabilities living in northern Sweden during the 1918 pandemic. Combining this with computer modelling, she is hoping to look at how the disease itself spread among these groups\u00a0and also how they were affected by social factors.<\/p>\n

Data from both the 1918 pandemic and the one happening today suggests that people with disabilities should feature far more prominently as an at-risk group in public health responses to Covid-19 and future pandemics, according to Dr Dimka.<\/p>\n

\u2018If you look at the vaccine recommendations in Norway, and I\u2019m sure it will be true for a lot of different countries, the emphasis is on high-risk individuals,\u2019 said Dr Dimka. While a couple of learning disabilities do feature in official vaccination recommendations, most do not and the advice is often not consistent, she says. \u2018One of the things that has been most striking is that it feels like we didn\u2019t learn a whole lot from past pandemics.\u2019<\/p>\n

Lessons<\/strong><\/p>\n

With the\u00a0risk of pandemics likely to increase<\/a>\u00a0in the future, both Dr Comes and Molenaar agree there are important lessons to be learnt about how vulnerable groups are treated.<\/p>\n

\u2018In terms of crisis communication, it took too long for people to realise there are lots of people who are not able to access or understand this official information,\u2019 said Molenaar. \u2018Many of the pandemic preparedness plans that existed before Covid-19 didn\u2019t have details about how the responses could address the needs of different vulnerable groups. Civil society was left to pull a lot of the weight in the early stages.\u2019<\/p>\n

While many communities set up neighbourhood initiatives to help out those who were struggling during the pandemic, there was little coordination between them. \u2018We saw a lot of the initiatives that sprang up were very fragmented and not really connecting with each other,\u2019 added Dr Comes.<\/p>\n

The key, all three researchers say, is to have plans in place before a pandemic hits as then vulnerable communities won\u2019t be overlooked or missed out in the emergency responses that follow.<\/p>\n

\u2018The key thing is to be aware that some people are going to struggle more,\u2019 added Molenaar. \u2018And have a plan.\u2019<\/p>\n

This story is part of a\u00a0<\/em>series<\/a><\/em>\u00a0in which we hear from the next generation of scientists and researchers who are working to tackle global challenges.<\/em><\/p>\n

Discussions of preparedness lessons from Covid-19 and how research and innovation can help to leave no one behind in the post-pandemic recovery will take place on 23 June as part of the European Commission\u2019s\u00a0<\/em>Research and Innovation Days conference<\/em><\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

Originally published on Horizon Magazine<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Viruses like Covid-19 make no distinction between those they infect. They should in theory cause disease in the rich just as they do the poor and pay no heed to social status or cultural background. But in practice the pandemic has widened the gulf between vulnerable groups and other populations in Europe rather than helping … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":322,"featured_media":1748,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,121],"tags":[359,362,436],"class_list":["post-1747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-policy","tag-coronavirus","tag-pandemic","tag-response"],"yoast_head":"\nHow vulnerable groups were left behind in pandemic response - Horizon Magazine Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1747\/how-vulnerable-groups-were-left-behind-in-pandemic-response\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How vulnerable groups were left behind in pandemic response\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Viruses like Covid-19 make no distinction between those they infect. They should in theory cause disease in the rich just as they do the poor and pay no heed to social status or cultural background. But in practice the pandemic has widened the gulf between vulnerable groups and other populations in Europe rather than helping ... Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1747\/how-vulnerable-groups-were-left-behind-in-pandemic-response\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Horizon Magazine Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-06-07T11:03:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/06\/remi-walle-UOwvwZ9Dy6w-unsplash-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1696\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Richard Gray\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Richard Gray\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1747\\\/how-vulnerable-groups-were-left-behind-in-pandemic-response\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1747\\\/how-vulnerable-groups-were-left-behind-in-pandemic-response\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Richard Gray\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/042c9393ea152c13c0b8b9ba82055602\"},\"headline\":\"How vulnerable groups were left behind in pandemic response\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-07T11:03:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1747\\\/how-vulnerable-groups-were-left-behind-in-pandemic-response\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1743,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1747\\\/how-vulnerable-groups-were-left-behind-in-pandemic-response\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/remi-walle-UOwvwZ9Dy6w-unsplash-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"coronavirus\",\"Pandemic\",\"response\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Health\",\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2021\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1747\\\/how-vulnerable-groups-were-left-behind-in-pandemic-response\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1747\\\/how-vulnerable-groups-were-left-behind-in-pandemic-response\\\/\",\"name\":\"How vulnerable groups were left behind in pandemic response - Horizon Magazine Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1747\\\/how-vulnerable-groups-were-left-behind-in-pandemic-response\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1747\\\/how-vulnerable-groups-were-left-behind-in-pandemic-response\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/remi-walle-UOwvwZ9Dy6w-unsplash-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-07T11:03:29+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1747\\\/how-vulnerable-groups-were-left-behind-in-pandemic-response\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1747\\\/how-vulnerable-groups-were-left-behind-in-pandemic-response\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1747\\\/how-vulnerable-groups-were-left-behind-in-pandemic-response\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/remi-walle-UOwvwZ9Dy6w-unsplash-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/remi-walle-UOwvwZ9Dy6w-unsplash-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1696,\"caption\":\"People who were marginalised before the coronavirus were disproportionately impacted by the situation. Image credit - R\u00e9mi Walle \\\/ Unsplash\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1747\\\/how-vulnerable-groups-were-left-behind-in-pandemic-response\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How vulnerable groups were left behind in pandemic response\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/\",\"name\":\"Horizon Magazine Blog\",\"description\":\"The EU Research & Innovation Magazine\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Horizon Magazine Blog\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/eu-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/eu-logo.jpg\",\"width\":601,\"height\":283,\"caption\":\"Horizon Magazine Blog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/042c9393ea152c13c0b8b9ba82055602\",\"name\":\"Richard Gray\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0fb7fc92c5bb1fcd60351c743b49fd95f24fb8e4a238bab4922f42709dcbd847?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0fb7fc92c5bb1fcd60351c743b49fd95f24fb8e4a238bab4922f42709dcbd847?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0fb7fc92c5bb1fcd60351c743b49fd95f24fb8e4a238bab4922f42709dcbd847?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Richard Gray\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/author\\\/richardgray\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How vulnerable groups were left behind in pandemic response - Horizon Magazine Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1747\/how-vulnerable-groups-were-left-behind-in-pandemic-response\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How vulnerable groups were left behind in pandemic response","og_description":"Viruses like Covid-19 make no distinction between those they infect. They should in theory cause disease in the rich just as they do the poor and pay no heed to social status or cultural background. But in practice the pandemic has widened the gulf between vulnerable groups and other populations in Europe rather than helping ... Read more","og_url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1747\/how-vulnerable-groups-were-left-behind-in-pandemic-response\/","og_site_name":"Horizon Magazine Blog","article_published_time":"2021-06-07T11:03:29+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1696,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/06\/remi-walle-UOwvwZ9Dy6w-unsplash-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Richard Gray","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Richard Gray","Est. reading time":"9 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1747\/how-vulnerable-groups-were-left-behind-in-pandemic-response\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1747\/how-vulnerable-groups-were-left-behind-in-pandemic-response\/"},"author":{"name":"Richard Gray","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/person\/042c9393ea152c13c0b8b9ba82055602"},"headline":"How vulnerable groups were left behind in pandemic response","datePublished":"2021-06-07T11:03:29+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1747\/how-vulnerable-groups-were-left-behind-in-pandemic-response\/"},"wordCount":1743,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1747\/how-vulnerable-groups-were-left-behind-in-pandemic-response\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/06\/remi-walle-UOwvwZ9Dy6w-unsplash-scaled.jpg","keywords":["coronavirus","Pandemic","response"],"articleSection":["Health","Policy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2021","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1747\/how-vulnerable-groups-were-left-behind-in-pandemic-response\/","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1747\/how-vulnerable-groups-were-left-behind-in-pandemic-response\/","name":"How vulnerable groups were left behind in pandemic response - Horizon Magazine Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1747\/how-vulnerable-groups-were-left-behind-in-pandemic-response\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1747\/how-vulnerable-groups-were-left-behind-in-pandemic-response\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/06\/remi-walle-UOwvwZ9Dy6w-unsplash-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2021-06-07T11:03:29+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1747\/how-vulnerable-groups-were-left-behind-in-pandemic-response\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1747\/how-vulnerable-groups-were-left-behind-in-pandemic-response\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1747\/how-vulnerable-groups-were-left-behind-in-pandemic-response\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/06\/remi-walle-UOwvwZ9Dy6w-unsplash-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/06\/remi-walle-UOwvwZ9Dy6w-unsplash-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1696,"caption":"People who were marginalised before the coronavirus were disproportionately impacted by the situation. Image credit - R\u00e9mi Walle \/ Unsplash"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1747\/how-vulnerable-groups-were-left-behind-in-pandemic-response\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How vulnerable groups were left behind in pandemic response"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#website","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/","name":"Horizon Magazine Blog","description":"The EU Research & Innovation Magazine","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#organization","name":"Horizon Magazine Blog","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/04\/eu-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/04\/eu-logo.jpg","width":601,"height":283,"caption":"Horizon Magazine Blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/person\/042c9393ea152c13c0b8b9ba82055602","name":"Richard Gray","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0fb7fc92c5bb1fcd60351c743b49fd95f24fb8e4a238bab4922f42709dcbd847?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0fb7fc92c5bb1fcd60351c743b49fd95f24fb8e4a238bab4922f42709dcbd847?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0fb7fc92c5bb1fcd60351c743b49fd95f24fb8e4a238bab4922f42709dcbd847?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Richard Gray"},"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/author\/richardgray\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/06\/remi-walle-UOwvwZ9Dy6w-unsplash-scaled.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgtNKV-sb","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1603,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1603\/qa-why-history-suggests-covid-19-is-here-to-stay\/","url_meta":{"origin":1747,"position":0},"title":"Q&A: Why history suggests Covid-19 is here to stay","author":"Anthony King","date":"January 27, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"A mysterious\u00a0flu-like illness that caused loss of taste and smell in the late 19th century\u00a0was probably caused by a coronavirus that still causes the \u2018common cold\u2019 in people today, according to Professor Marc Van Ranst at KU Leuven in Belgium, an expert on coronaviruses. He says that the foothold of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health"","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/health\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/photo-1584631838679-3737b5a77c71.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/photo-1584631838679-3737b5a77c71.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/photo-1584631838679-3737b5a77c71.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/photo-1584631838679-3737b5a77c71.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/photo-1584631838679-3737b5a77c71.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1252,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1252\/the-dangers-of-misinformation-and-neglecting-linguistic-minorities-during-a-pandemic\/","url_meta":{"origin":1747,"position":1},"title":"The dangers of misinformation and neglecting linguistic minorities during a pandemic","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"April 17, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"By Fintan Burke The rapidly changing coronavirus pandemic means governments and health authorities need to act fast. But medical advice \u2014 and pleas for help \u2014 are being hindered by language barriers and misinformation online. Improving communication for vulnerable communities in particular has become a race against time. The pandemic\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Social Sciences"","block_context":{"text":"Social Sciences","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/social-sciences\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Advice on policies such as 'social distancing' can become lost in translation during crises, say researchers. Image credit - Citt\u00e0 di Parma\/Flickr, licenced under CC BY-SA 2.0","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/49730023908_967ae85213_c.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/49730023908_967ae85213_c.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/49730023908_967ae85213_c.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/49730023908_967ae85213_c.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1488,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1488\/lack-of-solidarity-hampered-europes-coronavirus-response-research-finds\/","url_meta":{"origin":1747,"position":2},"title":"Lack of solidarity hampered Europe\u2019s coronavirus response, research finds","author":"Richard Gray","date":"November 12, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Competition between European countries for equipment, test kits and medicines needed to tackle Covid-19 may have hampered the region\u2019s ability to respond to the pandemic. Greater sharing of resources, hospital capacity and even healthcare staff are needed to cope with pandemics in the future, according to researchers examining the public\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health"","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/health\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/11\/Hospital_Ifema_coronavirus.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/11\/Hospital_Ifema_coronavirus.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/11\/Hospital_Ifema_coronavirus.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/11\/Hospital_Ifema_coronavirus.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2464,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/2464\/long-covid-the-pandemics-testing-aftermath\/","url_meta":{"origin":1747,"position":3},"title":"Long Covid: the pandemic\u2019s testing aftermath","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"August 18, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By tracking Covid-19 patients, doctors in Europe are in search of treatments for a lingering sickness that is both debilitating and puzzling. By\u00a0\u00a0ANTHONY KING Evelina Tacconelli, an Italian infectious diseases specialist, is seeking cures for a coronavirus-induced illness that\u2019s playing havoc with the lives of millions of people in Europe\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Brain & Behavior"","block_context":{"text":"Brain & Behavior","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/brain-behavior\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/08\/17.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/08\/17.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/08\/17.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/08\/17.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1559,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1559\/2021-beyond-coronavirus-whats-in-store-for-science-in-the-year-ahead\/","url_meta":{"origin":1747,"position":4},"title":"2021: Beyond coronavirus – what\u2019s in store for science in the year ahead?","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"January 6, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"There was one science story that dominated 2020 and coronavirus is likely to remain a dominant theme in 2021. But from vaccine rollout to lessons for future pandemics and \u2013 that other big challenge that we\u2019re facing \u2013 climate change, how will the year in science play out? We asked\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/photo-1603056740028-4291336263c8.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/photo-1603056740028-4291336263c8.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/photo-1603056740028-4291336263c8.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/photo-1603056740028-4291336263c8.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/photo-1603056740028-4291336263c8.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1197,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1197\/covid-19-social-distancing-will-help-health-authorities-deal-with-coronavirus-says-epidemiologist\/","url_meta":{"origin":1747,"position":5},"title":"Covid-19: Social distancing will help health authorities deal with coronavirus, says epidemiologist","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"March 11, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by\u00a0Richard Gray Social distancing policies, such as cancelling high-density gatherings, discouraging handshakes and asking people to increase their distance from each other will delay a coronavirus pandemic and help health authorities plan resources, according to epidemiologist Dr Vittoria Colizza who is modelling the spread of Covid-19 and the effectiveness of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health"","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/health\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"There are still many unanswered questions about SARS-CoV-2, such as whether children are affected. Image credit - NIAID Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML)\/Public domain","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/03\/SARS-CoV-2_sm.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/03\/SARS-CoV-2_sm.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/03\/SARS-CoV-2_sm.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/03\/SARS-CoV-2_sm.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/03\/SARS-CoV-2_sm.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/322"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1747"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1747\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}