Jews In The UK And COVID-19
This article on the Times of Israel is entitled Coronavirus-Related Death Toll Jumps To 458 Among UK Jews.
- According to Wikipedia in 2011, there were 263,346 Jews in the UK.
- This gives a figure of 0.174% for the percentage of Jews, who have died.
- According to UK government figures, 35,341 have died from COVID-19.
- According to Wikipedia, the UK population in mid-2019, was 66,796,807.
- This gives a figure of 0.053% for the percentage of the UK population, who have died.
From these simple figures Jews are over three times more likely to die of COVID-19, than the general population.
Why are Jews, so much more likely to die of COVID-19, than the general population?
In A Thought On Deaths Of The Elderly From Covid-19, I postulated that there could be large numbers of undiagnosed coeliacs in the over-60s, who because of compromised immune systems, would be more susceptible to the virus.
I also said that the number of undiagnosed coeliacs over sixty-five could be as high as 120,000. These would have all been born before 1960, when it became possible to detect coeliac disease in children.
I am also fairly sure, that my coeliac disease came from my Ashkenazi Jewish genes.
This second article on The Times of Israel is entitled Jewish Charity Warns Of Coeliac ‘Stigma’ As Half-A-Million Said Undiagnosed.
This is the introductory paragraph.
A Jewish charity says there is a “stigma” surrounding coeliac disease in the Jewish community, after a national charity warned that there were still half a million people in the UK who are undiagnosed.
I would assume that the half-a-million figure refers to all the population of the UK, as there are only about half that number of Jews in the UK.
Could coeliac stigma mean that there many older Jews, who are coeliac, have not been diagnosed and their poorer immune systems make them more vulnerable to COVID-19?
A Wider Picture
This article on Times of Israel is entitled How COVID-19 is hitting Jewish communities around the world.
It is well-worth reading.
Conclusion
I should say, that I’m no medic, but just a humble engineer, mathematician and statistician, who has nearly sixty years experience of analysing data.
That experience applied to coeliac disease and COVID-19, says that undiagnosed coeliac disease, is not helping our fight against COVID-19!
The Anonymous Widower 
You need age profile as covid19 is an old persons virus,when it comes to deaths.
Comment by Melvyn | May 20, 2020 |
You don’t need an age profile in this simple analysis, as both all statistics include everybody.
Comment by AnonW | May 20, 2020 |
There is a clear skew towards older people dying, have a look on ONS and see what the age distribution is for different religions (and none). Religiosity is certainly an older citizen’s predilection. In addition, but this is more subjective opinion, Jewish people tend to live in urban areas, where Covid appears to have spread more easily.
Comment by R. Mark Clayton | May 20, 2020
The Jewish population in this country has many groups, far more than just Cultural, Orthodox and Reform. I am aware from things I have seen on news programs that some groups of Ultra Orthodox Jews are considering the area in which they live to be one household. Some parts of Manchester have a wire around them set on high poles which means they are one area under Jewish law – I can’t remember the name of it, but I remember they wanted to put one in Hale Barns but there was too much opposition. Within the borders making a particular area a single Jewish household, there is opportunity for a delivery driver or similar to bring Covid in, and it would then spread rapidly through the community because within the margins of their specialised area they are meeting normally. I think Cheetham Hill is the nearest place to me.
Comment by nosnikrapzil | May 20, 2020 |
It is an Eruv – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eruv . I don’t know about Hale, but I am pretty sure there is one in north Manchester.
Comment by R. Mark Clayton | May 20, 2020 |
The Chief Rabbi warned Jews to be careful and shut the synagogues he controls very early.
Comment by AnonW | May 20, 2020 |
Strangely, if you look at the last article, I referenced, Israel is doing rather well. Do they know more about Jewish diseases and does the country have a difference and perhaps younger age profile. They’ve also got lots of sun, so Israelis probably have good vitamin D levels.
Comment by AnonW | May 20, 2020 |
The percentages unfortunately are probably within the band of statistical error for the sample size, and no real way to increase the sample size without introducing other factors which would make any inferences difficult.
Interesting possibility and thought but I think we will never know for sure.
Comment by MilesT | May 21, 2020 |
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