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Families with children and adults between the ages of 18 and 29 reported being the hardest hit by the socioeconomic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new data released on Friday.
While seniors 70 years of age and older experienced the most severe health effects, young adults and parents of young children reported that the pandemic resulted in a higher economic, mental and emotional cost, according to the COVID survey. -19 provincial level on population, experience, action and knowledge conducted in the spring and funded by the BCCDC Foundation for Public Health.
Adults between the ages of 18 and 29 were nearly twice as likely to be out of work as a result of the pandemic, with 27% of respondents in this age group compared to 16% in the province as a whole.
They were also more likely to report greater difficulty meeting financial needs and were more pessimistic about their financial future than other age groups.
Families with children were more likely to report worsening mental health, decreased sleep, and increased alcohol consumption.
The survey results were used to inform decisions about public health measures during the pandemic, BC Deputy Health Officer Dr Réka Gustafson said at a news conference Friday.
“When we were opening schools, when we were prioritizing what we limit and what we don’t do, one of the things that has remained at the heart of our focus is to make sure that children continue to have access to school, person who school”, he said.
“This is informed both by how safe the schools are, because they are. And the other is the recognition that those services are absolutely essential for young families.”
Miranda Tracy, who lives in Langley and has two school-aged children, said her stress levels are worse now than in May when the survey was done.
There has recently been exposure to her children’s school, and Tracy said she fears they may bring the virus home.
“It’s the lack of masks, it’s the lack of social distance skills,” he explained. “There are 30 children and tiny classrooms with no real protection against COVID.”
Tracy also asked why the results of a poll conducted in the spring are only released in December, when conditions are different.
Gustafson attributed the delay to the time it takes to clean and analyze the data and prepare it for publication.
This represents the first time BC officials have released COVID-19 data of any kind relating to specific communities and ethnic groups.
It is the largest population health survey ever conducted in Canada, with a sample of 395,000 people, or about one in 10 adults in BC
The survey results were weighted using census data to reflect the BC population.
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