Noted: Hipple: Structural Inequalities Driving U.S. Racial Disparities in Coronavirus
If you missed this last week, you need to read it, and you need to read it right now. Americas in equality of opportunity and result is now very deadly indeed: Liz Hipple: New Congressional Reports Underscore Structural Inequalities Driving U.S. Racial Disparities in Coronavirus Infections & Covid-19 Deaths: ‘Consider Wisconsin, where only 6 percent of the population is black but African Americans make up 25 percent of the confirmed cases and 39 percent of deaths…. Data on how native Americans are becoming infected and dying has been scarce—a longstanding issue of native people made invisible by data gaps—but what data there are suggest that they, too, are disproportionately suffering from COVID-19…. Occupational segregation means that African American and Latinx workers are disproportionately represented in low-wage occupations that can’t be done remotely and are now on the front lines of essential work. They have to continue to show up to work even though it means exposing themselves—and the families they return to after their shifts end—to possible infection…. Black Americans are more likely to suffer from pre-existing health conditions, such as hypertension, heart disease, and asthma…. In part, these higher rates of co-morbidities are due to their greater likelihood of living in poverty, as lower socioeconomic status is associated with worse health outcomes. Yet prior research has already made clear that income alone cannot explain racial disparities in health outcomes…
#coronavirus #inequality #noted #publichealth #2020-05-18
