Epidemiology of COVID-19 By Race in The United States

 

Epidemiology of COVID-19 By Race in The United States

Introduction

The black and brown communities have recorded more deaths than expected on their share of the population. The disparities reveal the pre-epidemic realities and the structural differences that limit access to health and wealth for the groups. The scenario in San Francisco indicates that more brown and black individuals feel the effects of COVID-19 more than the white community. Ideally, Latinos made up about 35% of the patients before the outbreak. However, the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital records showed that 80% of COVID-19 cases involved the Latino population (Godoy & Wood, 2020). In Los Angeles County, the Latino and Black communities recorded double mortality rates from coronavirus. Of every 100,000 Latino residents, 38 have succumbed to the virus, while black recorded 37 deaths (Lin, 2020). On the other hand, the white L.A County residents had 19 deaths from every 100,000. Therefore, the people of color are disproportionately affected by COVID-19, with those in areas with the highest poverty rates being the hardest hit.

Various explanations exist on the reasons for the high mortality rates for the brown and black communities. A common one is that the residents from the two groups work in jobs where they have to leave home to get paid, unlike the highest-paid Americans who can work from home (Lin, 2020). For example, the black population is overrepresented in low-wage essential jobs, in healthcare, distribution. Further, the minority groups have a disproportionate burden of underlying comorbidities such as diabetes, obesity, and kidney conditions (Brown & Ravallion, 2020). They also live in overcrowded conditions that undermine their ability to maintain physical distancing. Social distancing is a privilege since the black and brown communities cannot isolate themselves in safe homes or work remotely with full access to digital technologies. The greater risk of being homeless and residing in neighborhoods with low air quality also increases the risk of infection and high mortality rates for the underprivileged communities (Hooper et al., 2020). Further, the group is less likely to be tested for COVID-19. Testing sites are disproportionately located in whiter communities, thus revealing the failure to direct more resources to minority communities. In the end, there is a danger of discouraging the black and brown groups from trusting and buying into public health messaging on COVID-19.

Recommendations

The high mortality rates for the black and brown communities reveal the health disparities that undermine the quality of life. Ideally, public policies can play a crucial role in enhancing public health through interventions adapted for the local community characteristics. For example, the physical distancing and sheltering-in-place solutions should consider characteristics of the brown and black communities that operate in overcrowded neighborhoods (Godoy & Wood, 2020). Culturally appropriate and community competent efforts are essential in reducing disparities and promoting equity. In this case, policymakers should focus more on gaining a deeper understanding of communities and adopting local data-driven interventions to support the health of all individuals. It is also essential to direct testing and other resources to the underprivileged communities to tailor public health response (Godoy & Wood, 2020). The move is crucial for everyone’s health and safety since it allows black and brown groups to be more responsive to public health messages about COVID-19. Given the disparate tool on the minority population, it is also crucial to help them meet basic needs by providing food, wage support and temporary housing for those who get exposed to the virus.

 

References

Brown, C., & Ravallion, M. (2020, August 10). Poverty, inequality, and COVID-19 in the U.S. Vox. https://voxeu.org/article/poverty-inequality-and-covid-19-us

Godoy, M., & Wood, D. (2020, May 30). What do coronavirus racial disparities look like state by state? NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/05/30/865413079/what-do-coronavirus-racial-disparities-look-like-state-by-state

Hooper, W. M., Nápoles, M. A., & Pérez-Stable, E. (2020). COVID-19 and racial/ethnic disparities. American Medical Association, 323(24), 2466-2467. https://scholar.google.com/scholar_url?url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/articlepdf/2766098/jama_webb_hooper_2020_vp_200106.pdf&hl=en&sa=T&oi=ucasa&ct=ufr&ei=2H5aX83iOJS4mAHK_anICw&scisig=AAGBfm0wPsLqrSofILs4g_0F6eSy0eaGiQ

Lin, R.-G. (2020, June 27). California Latino, Black residents, hit even harder by coronavirus as white people see less danger. The Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-27/california-latinos-black-people-hit-even-harder-by-coronavirus