| الوصف: |
The COVID-19 pandemic struck societies directly and indirectly, challenging not just people’s health but many aspects of life. But pandemic burdens fell more heavily on some groups than others. These different consequences of the spreading virus – and the measures to fight them – are reported and analyzed in different scientific fora, with hard-to-compare methods that largely follow disciplinary boundaries. As a result, it is hard to grasp the overall impact of the pandemic on inequality. This paper relies on individual-level, administrative data for Sweden’s entire population to describe how different social groups fared in terms of nine outcomes: three types of COVID-19 incidence, as well as six other negative life events. During 2020, the population faced severe morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 and saw higher all-cause mortality, income losses and unemployment risks, as well as reduced access to medical care. In terms of relative risks, these burdens fell disproportionately on those with low income or education, and on residents born outside of Sweden. In the pandemic, all-cause mortality, unemployment, substantial income loss, poor mental health, and reduced access to health care went up for all groups in Sweden. But relative risks across social groups were strikingly similar to those in pre-pandemic years. |