Coronavirus could become a disease that haunts poorer parts of society, a government scientific advisor has said. Dr Mike Tildesley, reader in mathematical modelling of infectious diseases at the University of Warwick and member of the Government advisory group SPI-M, said that he was "concerned" that the virus might persist particular parts of the country. Six of the most deprived parts of England were in the bottom ten local areas for vaccine uptake among the over-80s and those aged over 75, Public Health England and local vaccination data shows. In April the ZOE Symptoms Tracker App found that Covid-19 was more common and more severe in people living in urban areas and regions of higher poverty in the UK. At the time researcher Dr Cristina Menni from King’s College London said: "This could reflect that individuals in more deprived areas are more exposed or vulnerable to the virus.

Source: Daily Mirror February 23, 2021 09:52 UTC