With a flailing federal administration pioneered by selfish, oblivious leadership, disparate guidelines between states, and insufficient funds to keep many families afloat, the novel coronavirus pandemic has changed the lives of countless Americans for the worse. We know that more than 200,000 Americans have died from COVID-19. As reported by The Root, revised data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, sheds new and important light on who exactly is getting the virus and dying from it, and why that information really does matter.
As Daily Kos covered back in April, even among preliminary data reporting, we knew that Black Americans, as well as other communities of color, have been disproportionately impacted by the virus. And new information clarifies exactly how bad it is—and while it’s shocking and grim, it’s also important to know so we can fight the systems that contribute to these results. Let’s break down the numbers, and some possible explanations, below.
In previous reports, the CDC estimated that Black Americans were dying at a rate of about two times higher than white Americans, Latinx Americans were dying at a rate of about one time higher, and American Indians or Alaska Natives were dying at a rate of 1.4 times as high as white Americans. Those numbers are horrifying, but they’re not even the full picture.
Now, after adjusting for age, the CDC reports that Black and Latinx Americans are dying at a rate of almost three times that of white Americans, and American Indians or Alaska Natives are dying at a rate of 2.6 times that of white Americans. So, from bad to worse.
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren tweeted out a visualization of the data.
Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency room physician and professor at George Washington University, spoke to CNBC in an interview about the revised data, saying she hopes “people will see that it’s not the virus that’s doing the discriminating.” What is doing the discriminating? As Wen told the news outlet, it’s our “systems.” Wen is undoubtedly correct about this.
We know that people of color make up more than 40% of all essential workers in the United States. As we know, many essential jobs can’t be done from the comfort of your own home, so that means more interacting with the public, potentially sharing confined spaces with coworkers, and potentially inconsistent access to personal protective equipment. Even the fact that 60% of public transit riders are people of color may be a factor. Comorbidities may also play a role, as well, when we consider food deserts and access to nutritious food, as well as pollution and air quality. In some communities, such as in the Navajo Nation, the lack of consistent and clean water is an ongoing barrier.
Lack of health insurance, or being underinsured, may also be factors in receiving inadequate health care. A new study actually suggests that long-term effects of racism may literally cause Black Americans to age faster on the cellular level, due to depression and stress.
And speaking of stress, we know that amid the pandemic, Black-owned businesses have had to shut down twice as fast as the general population. Compared to white business owners, businesses owned by women, immigrants, and people of color closed much faster between February and April alone. A recent spotlight example is the impact the virus has had on child care workers; according to the Associated Press, roughly half of minority-owned child care providers may close amid the pandemic if they do not receive more assistance. Given the cost (and absolute necessity) of additional PPE and cleaning supplies to keep such spaces relatively safe, funds should be streaming into these places.
The takeaway? When it comes to facing the pandemic, the government needs to accurately present all facets of the data so we know what communities need the most support. This direction matters for everything from helping to keep small businesses afloat, to getting adequate PPE, and to (eventually) distributing the vaccine. It’s also a big picture reminder that our systems have got to change.