COVID-19 Hitting Blacks and Hispanics Hardest: Let’s Talk Solutions
By now, you have likely heard the alarming news: the COVID-19 pandemic is hitting mid-life and older Blacks and Hispanics especially hard. While 12 percent of Americans ages 45 to 64 are Black, they represent a disproportionate 24 percent of COVID-19 cases in this age group. The discrepancy is similarly striking for older Black Americans (see figure).
Emerging data indicate similar trends among Hispanics.
One important reason for the coronavirus’ disproportionate impact on midlife and older Blacks and Hispanics is a
higher prevalence of underlying health conditions—like obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure—that increase the risk of COVID-19-related illness and death. These health disparities are the result of a longstanding history of racism that drives
structural inequality and provider
bias in health care decision making.
In a
previous blog, we called for actionable solutions to reduce the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Blacks and Hispanics, starting with the urgent need to improve the collection of COVID-19-related data by race and ethnicity across all health and long-term care settings. Here are three other areas where immediate action will help push us forward:
1. Access to health coverage for midlife adults
2. Food security
3. Bias-free health care
Longer term, policy makers and others must do much more to address the root causes of health disparities, including those related to COVID-19. To do so, they must understand and be willing to craft solutions that address the structural inequities that drive these disparities—such as the stressors associated with institutional racism, access to adequate and affordable housing, safe neighborhoods, and good paying jobs, to name just a few. Racial and ethnic disparities in health outcomes are rooted in centuries of racism and structural inequality, and eliminating them will require bold action from all parts of society.
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