The world was already deeply divided before the pandemic, but covid has cruelly deepened the divisions (doi:10.1136/bmj.n1783). 1 From the start it was clear that people in deprived or ethnic minority communities were at greater risk of contracting and dying from covid, because of their work, housing, or poorer underlying health. They have also been harder hit by the economic impact of lockdowns. Research published this week shows that people with learning difficulties are at greater risk of covid related hospital admission and death (