Making an impact during a global pandemic

In October 2019, the ARCs were renamed from CLAHRCs and ARC East Midlands was given the responsibility of being a national ARC lead for research in multiple long term conditions and equality, diversity and inclusion of under-represented groups. Just a few months later, ARC East Midlands rose to this challenge during a time of international crisis.

Within weeks of the start of the national lockdown imposed due to the COVID 19 pandemic, Director, Professor Kamlesh Khunti CBE, became one of the first to spot signs of a disproportionate impact of the virus on those from ethnic minority communities. As more evidence emerged to support this concerning trend, ARC East Midlands responded to its national brief. The team led a programme of work to address COVID 19 and ethnic disparities.

2020: Meeting the immediate need

During the early days of the pandemic, researchers within ARC East Midlands helped lead a national campaign to address the disproportionate impact of coronavirus on ethnic minority groups, with backing from Omid Djalili and Whoopi Goldberg.

Then in June of 2020, ARC East Midlands Director was among an international group of experts calling for researchers to ensure people from ethnic minority groups are proportionately represented in COVID-19 studies following a study. We were also one of the expert’s called to speak to MPs on the parliamentary women and equalities committee, which held an evidence session on 17 June for their inquiry into the impact of coronavirus on ethnic minority communities.

A few weeks later a study conducted by a team involving ARC East Midlands researchers found that obese people among black and minority ethnic communities were around two times higher the risk of contracting COVID-19 than white Europeans.

An ARC East Midlands report, published in the autumn, captured public perceptions of coronavirus vaccine trial research within ethnic minority and vulnerable communities. Then a series of digital animations chronicling ARC East Midland's response towards the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on ethnic populations were released. Also, that autumn, the team translated the then COVID-19 tier system rules into South Asian languages.

In another study involving ARC East Midlands and published in 2020, it was found that ethnic minority healthcare workers were more likely to have built up antibodies to COVID 19.

2021: Continuing to generate vital evidence

Major research involving ARC East Midlands influenced the government’s second report on COVID-19 disparities published in February 2021.

Also, during the same month ARC East Midlands researchers were part of a study that reported vaccine uptake in ethnic minorities had been lower compared to the rest of the population. Further research involving the team published in the spring of 2021 revealed that minority ethnic groups were more likely to become seriously unwell or even die should they become infected with COVID 19.

On recommendations by NHS England, an expert working group led by Professor Kamlesh Khunti developed a Risk Reduction Framework for NHS Staff at risk of COVID 19 infection. The framework was aimed at helping employers to supplement risk assessment of their staff, particularly of high risk and vulnerable groups, including ethnic minority populations, to ensure staff safety.

This was the framework that was recommended for use for NHS staff both in primary and secondary care with estimations that more than 70% of NHS staff had been assessed using this framework. We were also asked to be part of a group that developed a similar framework for care staff.

In collaboration with the South Asian Health Foundation, to highlight the growing evidence of ethnic inequalities in COVID 19 outcomes, ARC East Midlands researchers were involved in the report, Supporting Ethnic Minority populations post COVID-19: Recommendations from the South Asian Health Foundation. The review provided the most comprehensive overview of the evidence on ethnic inequalities in the impact of COVID-19 and discussed potential explanatory factors for these observations. Critically, it made much needed recommendations to protect ethnic minority individuals both in the general population and in key worker roles. As well as immediate recommendations, the review issued long-term actions to reduce structural inequality.

2022: Publishing more evidence to close the gap in health inequality

Research supported by ARC East Midlands and published in the journal Nature Communications published in February 2022 demonstrated a stronger association existed between deaths from COVID-19 and obesity in people of Black, South Asian and other ethnic minority groups than in White people.

Then two months later research conducted by the ARC East Midlands team working with the Office for National Statistics discovered that COVID 19 vaccination rates were much higher in White and Indian people and lower amongst Black individuals. Uptake of the coronavirus vaccine was highest among individuals of white British and Indian ethnic backgrounds and lowest among Black Africans and Black Caribbeans.

That summer, a study involving ARC East Midlands researchers published in the journal Diabetes Care, reported that existing health disparities amongst ethnic minorities with diabetes had worsened during the COVID 19 pandemic.

2023: A focus on reducing the impact of Long COVID

ARC East Midlands was approached by the Chief Medical Officer for England to assist in coordinating national research programmes on the long-term health effects of COVID 19, as well as generating new evidence.

As a result, nine major epidemiology-focused long COVID studies are currently running in the UK under the leadership of the National Long Covid Research Working Group, facilitated by ARC East Midlands researchers.

Researchers on these studies have formed the National Long COVID Research Working Group to share key findings and promote rapid knowledge exchange and efficient timely research. This is led and chaired ARC East Midlands funded staff. This has resulted in four collaborative publications in leading medical journals, including the most comprehensive and up-to-date global evidence review on the prevalence and long-term health effects of Long COVID among hospitalised and non-hospitalised populations. A key aim of the group is to facilitate collaborations and expertise between the research studies.

To mark three years since the UK was first put into lockdown, ARC East Midlands took the lead on a new publication which showcased how ARCs across the country responded to the coronavirus pandemic. NIHR ARC West provided communications support for the project. The document, NIHR ARCs supporting the fight against COVID-19, includes case studies demonstrating how the groups pivoted their research programmes following the outbreak of COVID-19.