Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

The Conversation logo

Widespread protests have broken out across the United States in response to the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many other black Americans at the hands of police. Demonstrations have also erupted in the UK, Australia, France and several other countries in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and in protest at these countries’ own domestic cases of institutional racism.

The fact that these protests are happening in the middle of a pandemic raises certain issues regarding the spread of the virus, but also they highlight deep inequalities that exist due to structural racism and its effects on people’s health.

It is no coincidence that the people who are most at risk of dying due to institutional racism are also those who are most at risk of COVID-19.

Read the full article on The Conversation website, written by Lakshmi Manoharan, Medical Epidemiologist in Centre for Tropical Medicine & Global Health (Nuffield Department of Medicine)

Oxford is a subscribing member of The ConversationFind out how you can write for The Conversation.