PopDigests Policy Briefs Discussion Papers Policy Insights Books and Reports Yearbook Related Content Pop Digest - Healthy Immigrants, Unhealthy Ageing? Books and Reports - Physically Constructed and Socially Shaped: Socio-Material Environment and Walking for Transportation in Later Life Pop Digest - Smoke in any direction News - 'How far have we come, and where are we headed? Reaching 8 billion humans on the planet' Recording Now on YouTube Books and Reports - Public Health Expenditure and Life Expectancy: A Healthy Investment Policy Insights - Support through the generations Policy Brief Demography and the Coronavirus Pandemic In light of the COVID-19 crisis, one of the most urgent policy issues is to gain a better understanding of the extent and ways in which demographics have determined different patterns of mortality in European countries due to the virus, and whether and how the pandemic and its economic consequences will affect population dynamics in the future. European demographers have been intensively working on these questions since the pandemic began. This policy brief offers an overview of the most important crisis outcomes identified by the demographic community in Europe to date, and points towards the pivotal trends that need to be tackled in the coming months. Document Download Population & Policy Compact 25/2020 (1.65 MB) Image Key Messages One of the most urgent policy issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe concerns the extent and ways in which demographics have determined different patterns of mortality between groups and regions, and whether and how the pandemic and its economic consequences will affect population dynamics in the future. Post-pandemic policy evaluations on the spread of COVID-19 and the impact of lockdown measures should include a thorough analysis that goes beyond health indicators. They should also assess the role played by key demographic indicators like age and family structures, co-residence patterns, and individual characteristics such as socio-economic status, ethnicity and mobility. During the current COVID-19 crisis, there is a high degree of uncertainty in decision-making processes. In addition to the ad-hoc consultancy required during any type of crisis, a more permanent monitoring system based on collected evidence of population health issues and beyond is needed. It should function in close collaboration with experts from research, policy, the economy and societal organisations to overcome silo-thinking. The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the crucial importance of effectively tackling social and health inequalities in Europe. References Balbo, N., Billari, F. & Melegaro, A. (2020, April 6). The strength of family ties and COVID-19. Contexts, American Sociological Association. Berrington, A., Billari, F., Thévenon, O. & Vono de Vilhena, D. (2017). Becoming an adult in Europe: It’s time to provide more cross-sectorial support to young people. Population & Policy Compact 13, Berlin: Max Planck Society/Population Europe. Block, P., Hoffman, M., Raabe, I. J., Dowd, J. B. & Mills, M. C. (2020). Social network-based distancing strategies to flatten the COVID-19 curve in a post-lockdown world. arXiv: 2004.07052 de Valk, H. A. G. & Bordone, V. (2018). Co-residence of adult children with their parents: differences by migration background explored and explained. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 45 (10): 1790-1812. Dowd, J. B., Andriano, L., Brazel, D.M., Rotondi, V., Block, P., Ding, X., Liu, Y. & Mills, M.C. (2020). Demographic science aids in understanding the spread and fatality rates of COVID-19. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Apr 2020, 202004911; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2004911117 Esteve, A., Permanyer, I. & Boertien, D. (2020). La vulnerabilidad de las provincias españolas a la COVID-19 según su estructura por edad y de coresidencia: implicaciones para el (des)confinamiento. Perspectives Demogràfiques, 19: 1-4. Kashnitsky, I. & Aburto, J. M. (2020). The pandemic threatens aged rural regions most. OSF Preprints, March 18. doi:10.31219/osf.io/abx7s Mogi, R. & Spijker, J. (2020). The influence of social and economic ties to the spread of COVID-19 in Europe. SocArXiv, April 14. doi:10.31235/osf.io/sb8xn. Nazio, T. (2019). Who cares? Securing support in old age. Population & Policy Compact 21, Berlin: Max Planck Society/Population Europe. Rotondi, V., Andriano, L., Downd, J. B. & Mills, M. C. (2020). Early evidence that social distancing and public health interventions flatten the COVID-19 curve in Italy. OSF Preprints, April 26. doi:10.31219/osf.io/wah4e. Verhagen, M. D., Brazel, D. M., Dowd, J. B., Kashnitsky, I. & Mills, M. C. (2020). Predicting peak hospital demand: demographics, spatial variation, and the risk of ‘hospital deserts’ during COVID-19 in England and Wales. OSF Preprints, March 21. doi:10.31219/osf.io/g8s96. Yuhas, A. (2020, April 8). Don’t Expect a Quarantine Baby Boom. New York Times. Wu, J., McCann, A., Katz, J. & Peltier, E. (2020, April 27). 40,000 Missing Deaths: Tracking the True Toll of the Coronavirus Outbreak. New York Times. Additional Information Authors of Original Article Balbo Kashnitsky Melegaro Meslé Mills de Valk Vono de Vilhena Source Balbo, N., Kashnitsky, I., Melegaro, A., Meslé, F., Mills, M. C., de Valk, H. A. G. & Vono de Vilhena, D. (2020). Demography and the Coronavirus Pandemic. Population & Policy Compact 25, Berlin: Max Planck Society/Population Europe.