RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on social relationships and health JF Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health JO J Epidemiol Community Health FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd SP 128 OP 132 DO 10.1136/jech-2021-216690 VO 76 IS 2 A1 Emily Long A1 Susan Patterson A1 Karen Maxwell A1 Carolyn Blake A1 Raquel Bosó Pérez A1 Ruth Lewis A1 Mark McCann A1 Julie Riddell A1 Kathryn Skivington A1 Rachel Wilson-Lowe A1 Kirstin R Mitchell YR 2022 UL http://jech.bmj.com/content/76/2/128.abstract AB This essay examines key aspects of social relationships that were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It focuses explicitly on relational mechanisms of health and brings together theory and emerging evidence on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to make recommendations for future public health policy and recovery. We first provide an overview of the pandemic in the UK context, outlining the nature of the public health response. We then introduce four distinct domains of social relationships: social networks, social support, social interaction and intimacy, highlighting the mechanisms through which the pandemic and associated public health response drastically altered social interactions in each domain. Throughout the essay, the lens of health inequalities, and perspective of relationships as interconnecting elements in a broader system, is used to explore the varying impact of these disruptions. The essay concludes by providing recommendations for longer term recovery ensuring that the social relational cost of COVID-19 is adequately considered in efforts to rebuild.Data sharing not applicable as no data sets generated and/or analysed for this study. Data sharing not applicable as no data sets generated or analysed for this essay.