One of the hallmarks of the early stages of the pandemic was the disproportionate number of black and Latino Americans.
In the early months of Covid in the US, the death rate per capita for black Americans was nearly twice that of whites and more than twice that of Asians. The Latino mortality rate is moderate, significantly lower than the Black rate but still above average.
Teresa Bradley, a nurse in Michigan, “We are most vulnerable to this, told The Times in 2020, after surviving a Covid hospitalization. As she drove through the emergency room, it hurt her to see that every other patient she saw also had Black.
This large racial gap seems likely to persist throughout the pandemic, especially since white and Asian Americans were initially quicker at getting vaccinated. In contrast, black and Latino Americans have less convenient access to the scenes and many were skeptical of them.
But this large racial gap in vaccinations has not continued – and as a result, neither has the mortality gap in Covid.
Instead, Covid’s racial gap has been narrowed and, more recently, even overturned. Over the past year, the Covid death rate for white Americans has been 14% higher than the rate for black Americans and 72% higher than the Latino rate, according to the latest CDC data. .
It’s a remarkable turning point, a story of both success and failure of public health.
Bottom up
The successful part of the story is the rapid increase in vaccinations among black and Latino Americans since last year. Today, vaccination rates for both groups are slightly higher than for white Americans, according to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
It happened thanks to strong outreach efforts by health care workers, community organizers and others. In Chattanooga, Tenn., Rev. Steve Caudle preached on the importance of vaccines: “If it’s true, if it’s going to save lives, it should be preached from that pulpit,” he told The Chattanooga Times Free Press. In Imperial County, just north of the California border with Mexico, healthcare workers have leveraged the health infrastructure Obamacare helped create, by Joe Mathews of Zócalo Public Square.
An important characteristic of these campaigns is their bottom-up nature. Local leaders often tailor outreach campaigns to their communities. Rachel Hardeman, Director of the Center for Research Against Health Equalityism at the University of Minnesota, described this approach to me as “Focus on the margins.”
It can be especially effective when doctors and nurses listen to people’s skepticism about vaccines and respond respectfully and substantively. Dr. Viviana Martinez-Bianchi, a family physician in North Carolina, described This is the attitude of “listening with humility.”
Why haven’t you heard more about Covid’s closing the racial gap? Part of the reason, I think, is that many experts and journalists feel uncomfortable highlighting the narrowing racial gap in almost every region. They worry that doing so will somehow mitigate the country’s problems of racism and lingering inequalities.
Certainly, there are important caveats to the Covid story. For one thing, the total death rate is still higher for black and Latino Americans, because the disparity is so large initially. For another, the unequal nature of underlying health conditions means that the average Black person is still more susceptible to severe Covid-19 than whites of the same age, sex and immunization status.
Here are the trends based on age – still showing a narrowing gap, especially in recent months:
Even with these warnings, the bigger story remains: Covid has killed a smaller percentage of black, Latino or Asian Americans in the past year than white Americans. To deny that fact is to miss an important part of the Covid story.
It also serves as a reminder that rigorous, well-funded public health campaigns have the potential to close racial gaps. And there are clear racial disparities in public health: Traffic deaths, yes increase during the pandemic, disproportionately killing lower-income Americans and people of color. Gun violence, also soar, has an even more disproportionate impact. Diabetes, HIV, high blood pressure, and infant mortality all make black Americans more affected.
With Covid, the country lobbied to reduce the vaccination race gap – and it succeeded. With many other public health issues, a similar focus could save lives.
Partisan factor
As I mentioned above, Covid’s bridging the gap involves some bad news: The percentage of white Americans who are vaccinated against Covid has barely budged since last summer.
The main culprit is politics. According to Kaiser, only about 60% of Republican adults are vaccinated, compared with about 75% of independents and more than 90% of Democrats. And Republicans are all white and disproportionately older. Together, these data help explain why the death rate for whites has recently been higher than for Asians, Blacks or Latinos.
In heavily conservative, white communities, leaders have not been as good at explaining the benefits of vaccines — and the risks of Covid — as those in Black and Latino communities. . Instead, many conservative media figures, politicians, clerical members, and others amplify misinformation or misinformation about vaccines. In turn, millions of Americans chose not to receive a life-saving bullet. Some have paid with their lives.
Related
LATEST NEWS
Politics
A controversial golf tour
An emerging round of professional golf, the LIV Series, will held its first event today in the UK. The tour drew stars including Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson to help it compete with the dominant PGA Tour. But it also attracted scorn for its biggest investor: Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.
Why do golfers join LIV? The Saudi Arabian’s remarkably large purse. Mickelson is said to have been paid $200 million to participate, and Johnson $150 million. The prize money for this weekend’s event alone is $25 million; In contrast, Tiger Woods has won $120 million in his entire PGA career.
What’s controversial? Critics have accused Saudi Arabia of using its oil profits to buy up major sports organizations and tarnish its image. Mickelson lost his endorsement after participating, and he acknowledged that Saudi Arabia has a “terrible record on human rights,” including the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
What is the response of the PGA? It has aggressively sought to prevent Saudi Arabia’s travel. The PGA says it will discipline players and possibly ban them from most major US golf events.
Latest: A press conference yesterday increasing tension as the player dodges the questions on Saudi Arabia’s record.
PLAY, WATCH, EAT
What to cook?
