The coronavirus continues to spread in the USA. There are more than 500,000 infections. Initial data indicate that minorities are particularly hard hit
Like the handling of the coronavirus as a whole, the collection of related data in the USA is not nationally uniform. However, data from individual cities and regions indicate that African Americans are disproportionately affected by the virus. In Chicago, Milwaukee and Louisiana, for example, over 70 percent of Covid-19 deaths are black, although African Americans make up only a third of the population in each case.
PANDEMIC MEETS STRUCTURAL INEQUALITY
Although the available data are not yet sufficient to draw general conclusions, they do not come as a surprise. For the pandemic is hitting the USA with deep inequalities that already exist. An above-average number of African Americans have health problems – they suffer more than other population groups from diabetes, obesity and asthma – all Covid 19 risk factors.
At the same time, more blacks are uninsured and have less access to health care. Even in normal times, the life expectancy of a black person in Chicago is almost nine years less than that of a white person, and in Milwaukee it is as much as 14 years.
The social environment makes this situation more difficult. A disproportionate number of blacks have jobs that make it impossible for them to stay at home, depend on public transportation and do not have access to apps to have food delivered, for example. So it is precisely the most vulnerable in society who are potentially most exposed to the virus.
INCREASED ATTENTION
On Tuesday this question was addressed for the first time at the daily Corona press conference of the White House. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jerome Adams, himself of African-American origin, also addressed the issue in a very personal way. He mentioned his own health history of asthma, heart problems and diabetes risk:
“I embody what it means to grow up poor and black in America”. Surgeon General Dr Jerome Adams quoted.
The increased pressure has now prompted the National Disease Control Board (CDC) to include more data on the ethnic background of infected and deceased persons in its reports in the future.
HIGH RISK FOR LATINOS ALSO
As more information becomes available, it is expected that other minorities will be more affected. Latinos in particular share many of the risk factors of the African-American population. However, they often have a precarious residence status, which makes access to health care or even just necessary information even more difficult.
