₦airaland Forum

Why do people of color have higher rates of disease than whites?

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that 51% of those hospitalized due to the coronavirus among the Hispanic and Latino population are between the ages of 18 and 49. The CDC says that, in comparison, 13% of white Americans hospitalized from the disease are in that age category. For Black people, 23% of those hospitalized are in that age group. The data shows a clear disparity between race and ethnic groups.

According to Axios, the current surge of the coronavirus among younger people appears to be related to race and ethnicity. The CDC data shows that people of color are much more likely to be hospitalized than white Americans, even when age is accounted for. Death rates also reflect racial disparities. Black people aged 35-44 are 10 times more likely than white people to die from the virus, and the death rate for those of Hispanic and Latino origin in that age group is 8 times higher than it is for whites.

https://www.newsmax.com/health/health-news/cdc-race-ethnicity/2020/06/30/id/974898/

Why do blacks have higher rates of disease than whites?

The PPIC Statewide Survey finds that 30% of African Americans are very concerned about contracting COVID-19, compared to 18% of white Californians. This concern may be linked to high rates of employment in front-line essential jobs among black Californians. African Americans are also more likely to have underlying health conditions that increase risk of serious complications from COVID-19. This likelihood is driven in part by socioeconomic factors, including higher poverty rates and lower access to care.

Even after adjusting for age, sex, comorbidity, and income, African Americans appear to be much more likely to be hospitalized for COVID-19 than whites are. Most ominously, though, African Americans who contract the virus are dying at disproportionately high rates—their share of COVID-19 deaths is about 1.5 times greater than their share of the state population.

https://www.ppic.org/blog/racial-disparities-in-covid-19-mortality/?utm_source=ppic&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=blog_subscriber

New federal data reinforces the stark racial disparities that have appeared with COVID-19: According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Black Americans enrolled in Medicare were hospitalized with the disease at rates nearly four times higher than their white counterparts.
Disparities were also striking among Hispanics and Asian Americans. Hispanics were more than twice as likely to be hospitalized as whites, while Asian Americans were about 50% more likely. Black and Hispanic beneficiaries were more likely to test positive for the coronavirus as well, CMS Administrator Seema Verma said.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/06/22/881886733/black-medicare-patients-with-covid-19-nearly-4-times-as-likely-to-end-up-in-hosp

Why do blacks have a higher mortality rate than whites?

The coronavirus epidemic claimed more than 120,000 lives by late June, and its effects have been felt in communities across the country—but not equally. Emerging data show that people of color, especially African-Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans, are dying at higher rates than white Americans. In particular, African-Americans are dying at a rate three times greater than their population share.


https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2020/06/26/covid-19-hits-african-american-hispanic-and-native-american-communities

Why do whites get less disease than other people?

COVID-19 has laid bare the racial fissures in our society, and the deadly impact of policies that relegate people of color to substandard housing in overcrowded neighborhoods littered with toxic industries and waste sites. African Americans are dying of COVID-19 at more than twice the rate of white Americans: 61.6 deaths per 100,000 versus 26.2 deaths per 100,000. The death rate for Latinx persons is also higher than that of whites, at 28.2 deaths per 100,000, even though the nation’s Latinx population is considerably younger than its white population.

The higher rate of infection and death among African Americans and Latinx people has been attributed to a number of factors: overcrowded housing, overrepresentation among “essential workers,” higher use of public transportation, lack of access to regular health care, pre-existing health conditions caused by the stress of racism and poverty, and exposure to air pollution and other toxins.

https://nonprofitquarterly.org/climate-justice-can-only-be-achieved-if-there-is-racial-justice/