Shorter life expectancy during COVID-19 for India’s marginalised

The study found large mortality impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 on younger age groups, women, and marginalised social groups. Marginalised social groups within India experienced greater life expectancy declines than the most privileged social groups. These marginalised caste and religious groups already faced large disadvantages in life expectancy – disparities which were only exacerbated by the pandemic. Women in India experienced life expectancy declines of 3.1 years - one year more than men who experienced life expectancy losses of 2.1 years. The full paper, ‘Large and unequal life expectancy declines during the COVID-19 pandemic in India in 2020’, is published in Science Advances.