“For each 100,000 Americans (of their respective group), about 23 Whites have died from the coronavirus, a mortality rate somewhat lower than both Asians (24) and Latinos (25), and less than half of the rate for Blacks (55).”
AMP Research Lab, THE COLOR OF CORONAVIRUS:COVID-19 DEATHS BY RACE AND”ETHNICITY IN THE U.S.
The chart below depicts a different view of the lethality of COVID-19 by state as of May 26. It simply lists the total number of cases and the deaths confirmed at this time and the percentage of those who are confirmed to have acquired the disease who eventually die.
(Update)This is not the “official” rate as I am reminded by some astute readers. I appreciate and accept that, however, the reporting of this virus in many localities is questionable at best. The rates listed below are simply an attempt to recast the severity of this disease and to highlight the disproportionate impact of COVID on specific segments of the population.
The chart does not take into account the accuracy and timeliness of reported cases and deaths in states like Florida and Georgia which may or may not have engaged in honest reporting. This chart was taken from the CDC website and disaggregated figures listing relevant demographic subsets are few and far between. Other sites, like the Johns Hopkins and the APM Research site, are far more detailed and trustworthy. The CDC, on the other hand, is paid for with taxpayer dollars.
New York |
365,405 |
29,193 |
7.99%* |
New Jersey |
155,092 |
11,144 |
7.19% |
Illinois |
112,017 |
4,884 |
4.36% |
California |
94,558 |
3,795 |
4.01% |
Massachusetts |
93,271 |
6,416 |
6.88% |
Pennsylvania |
68,637 |
5,152 |
7.51% |
Texas |
55,971 |
1,527 |
2.73% |
Michigan |
54,881 |
5,240 |
9.55% |
Florida |
51,746 |
2,252 |
4.35% |
Maryland |
47,687 |
2,333 |
4.89% |
Georgia |
43,369 |
1,830 |
4.22% |
Connecticut |
40,873 |
3,742 |
9.16% |
Virginia |
39,342 |
1,236 |
3.14% |
Louisiana |
37,914 |
2,690 |
7.10% |
Ohio |
32,477 |
1,987 |
6.12% |
Indiana |
31,715 |
1,984 |
6.26% |
Colorado |
24,226 |
1,331 |
5.49% |
North Carolina |
23,964 |
764 |
3.19% |
Minnesota |
21,960 |
908 |
4.13% |
Tennessee |
20,731 |
339 |
1.64% |
Washington |
20,065 |
1,070 |
5.33% |
Iowa |
17,577 |
459 |
2.61% |
Arizona |
16,561 |
806 |
4.87% |
Wisconsin |
15,584 |
514 |
3.30% |
Alabama |
15,257 |
568 |
3.72% |
Rhode Island |
14,065 |
608 |
4.32% |
Mississippi |
13,731 |
652 |
4.75% |
Nebraska |
12,355 |
150 |
1.21% |
Missouri |
12,167 |
685 |
5.63% |
South Carolina |
10,178 |
440 |
4.32% |
Kansas |
9,218 |
188 |
2.04% |
Delaware |
9,067 |
337 |
3.72% |
Utah |
8,584 |
101 |
1.18% |
Kentucky |
8,571 |
391 |
4.56% |
District of Columbia |
8,225 |
440 |
5.35% |
Nevada |
7,888 |
412 |
5.22% |
New Mexico |
7,026 |
320 |
4.55% |
Arkansas |
6,029 |
117 |
1.94% |
Oklahoma |
5,860 |
312 |
5.32% |
South Dakota |
4,586 |
50 |
1.09% |
New Hampshire |
4,197 |
210 |
5.00% |
Oregon |
3,949 |
148 |
3.75% |
Puerto Rico |
3,260 |
129 |
3.96% |
Idaho |
2,684 |
79 |
2.94% |
North Dakota |
2,457 |
54 |
2.20% |
Maine |
2,109 |
79 |
3.75% |
West Virginia |
1,782 |
73 |
4.10% |
Vermont |
962 |
54 |
5.61% |
Wyoming |
843 |
12 |
1.42% |
Hawaii |
595 |
17 |
2.86% |
Montana |
479 |
lethality 16 |
3.34% |
Alaska |
409 |
10 |
2.44% |
(as of 5/26)
|
1,662,156
|
98,248
|
5.9%
|
*the posted rates are simply a calculation using the CDC figure which I have added to the chart. (L=confirmed deaths/cases)
The metrics demonstrate the inexorable efficiency of the virus. Once infected, the virus kills at a rate of 6 out of a hundred hosts. The president and his son, both of whom are seemingly on “Team Virus,” are declaring victory over the virus. A deeper dive into the numbers suggest a harrowing conclusion that is an explanation for their behavior and an excuse for the policies they espouse---despite the carnage, the right folks are dying. If we simply looked at the data, the death rates for black Americans would argue that the virus had a racist bent. Blacks die at a rate more than 2.4 times greater than whites, according to a study done by APM Research Labs of 39 states and the District of Columbia reporting data disaggregated by race and ethnicity (see below):
*Includes data from Washington, D.C., and the 40 states of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. States employ varying collection methods regarding ethnicity data. Denominator is built from data aggregated from each state, aligned with their method. Comparable rates could not be calculated for Indigenous people, due to so few states reporting data.
Unfortunately, the CDC website is less than informative regarding demographics of the pandemic. It is a choice. The facts are that as the death counts mounts, the suspicion is that Stephen Miller, or some other Trump stormtrooper, is quietly monitoring the numbers and wallowing in the potential electoral advantages. On May 26, with black families grieving at a rate more than twice the rest of us---a day when George Floyd, a black man, was murdered on the streets of Minneapolis by a police officer--- Trump decided to issue an executive order denouncing twitter. With the death toll approaching 100,000 his mind was elsewhere. At a time when normal humans were grieving, he was griping. Cretin was a word that comes to mind, but even that is too generous. Perhaps monster is more appropriate.
On May 28, the number of new cases in America updated at 1:04 PM by the NYTimes told the tale---1,721,200 cases, 101,200 deaths. The rate remains 5.9% and suggests that the rates for poor and minorities continue to rise in greater numbers than their whiter, richer peers. As Donald Trump claims victory, his idiot offspring counter with the spittle and dribble that fills their hapless minds. Junior called his father’s opponent a pedophile, while Eric blames the virus on Democrats--- claiming the 100,000+ dead are in service to them in order to halt Trump rallies. Having no shame is a lounge chair at the family gene pool, but the mindless ditherings that view the deaths of their countrymen as a “poor us bit of bad luck” defy reason. The Trump brand is and always has been gilded with shamelessness.
And so as we mourn the deaths of all our countrymen, let us not forget that in this time of sacrifice and fear, Donald Trump has determined that his discomfort exceeds the pain of those who have suffered debilitating illness and death. His inconvenience exceeds the horror of mothers and fathers who have had to die alone, of families unable to comfort their loved ones. In a more perfect world, Donald Trump would be able to grieve the losses, share the sacrifices, and help mitigate the pain coursing through his nation. In the world according to Trump, he can only mourn what the virus has done to him. His only loss to date is a soul that, at second thought, may have been lost at birth. He hasn’t yet processed the fact that but for his own incompetence and greed many additional thousands fell ill, too many died. It would lie heavy on the conscience if only he had one.
“It’s so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone...” Steinbeck wrote in The Winter of Our Discontent. For Donald Trump, in this season of our discontent and sorrow, as he bemoans the potential loss of privilege and power, the light went out long ago. And as the death count mounts and the poor and minorities die in disproportionate numbers, Trump can revel in the lack of effort expended to ease the scourge.
Wafting through his addled brain might be the satisfaction of knowing a good portion of those who passed on and of those who survived were not “MAGAites.” After all, in his magical world, his base is immune and, if not, at least forgiving. And after all, the dead can’t vote.