Greater Manchester's Covid rate leads to "jaw-dropping'' fall in life expectancy
The covid death rate was 25% higher in Greater Manchester
Covid-19 death rates in Greater Manchester have been 25% higher than in the rest of England, leading to a 'jaw-dropping' fall in life expectancy according to a new report.
Sir Michael Marmot, Professor of Epidemiology at University College London (UCL) who produced the report said that in the 13 months up to March 2021 during the pandemic, Greater Manchester had a 25% increased Covid-19 mortality rate compared to England.
That meant life expectancy in the North West of England fell by 1.6 years for men and 1.2 years for women compared to 1.3 years and 0.9 years respectively in England over 2020.
More money needed to tackle inequality
Prof Marmot said the Government should heed the report and warned that inequality in areas should be tackled, saying it is vitally important that local authorities are supported with enough central funding to improve outcomes.
He said the Institute has been approached by local authorities all across England, and that if the Government is serious about levelling up it must pay attention to what we're recommending, and what local governments are asking us to do with them.''
Improvements in life expectancy in England had been slowing since 2010 prior to the pandemic, which Prof Marmot said was avoidable, and very likely the effect of regressive socio-economic policies''.
'A blueprint for the rest of the country'
Speaking during a briefing to launch the new report, Prof Marmot said: I'd like to think what we are doing in Greater Manchester will be very important for Greater Manchester, but will also potentially provide a blueprint for the rest of the country.
If we are serious about levelling up, this is the way to do it. And if the Government doesn't get active, what they'll find is that local governments all around the country are doing it.
The time to do it is now, the reason for doing it is to create greater equity of health and wellbeing.''
The recommendations include more support for children and young people, rebalancing spending to focus more on prevention, more local power and control, and developing equity targets to monitor progress.