Black Americans continue to make up a disproportionate share of Covid-19 fatalities as the number of deaths from the coronavirus pandemic exceeds 100,000 in the U.S., according to an analysis of CDC data.
Nearly 23% of reported Covid-19 deaths in the U.S. are African American as of May 20, even though black people make up roughly 13% of the U.S. population, according to the data.
Conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and asthma that tend to plague African Americans more than other groups could contribute to more Covid-19 deaths. Income inequalities and disparities in access to health care tend to hurt minority and lower-income populations more than others.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert and member of President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force, said in April that the coronavirus outbreak is “shining a bright light” on how “unacceptable” the health disparities between blacks and whites are.