Will the corona virus expose a legacy of racial inequility?

Anecdotal reports that African Americans are being infected by COVID-19 and dying from the virus in disproportionate numbers have been circulating for over a week. As data accumulates, proof for this claim is forthcoming and adding weight to calls for congressional intervention.

According to Chicago’s WBEZ radio channel’s initial analysis of early data, 29 percent of Chicago’s population is black, yet 61 of Chicago’s 86 recorded deaths from the virus were black residents.

Black households generally tend to earn less than white households, therefore black households are less likely to have medical insurance, and have to face the virus from a lower health baseline than most white households. According to Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot, Chicago could not “erase decades of health disparities in a few days or a week”.

An April 3 ProPublica article has also singled out Milwaukee, Detroit, New Orleans, Illinois, and North Carolina, where the same phenomenon is now attracting attention to these alarming figures.

Some additional factors that may lead to a higher infection rate in the African American population have been suggested.

African Americans are well represented in jobs in sectors such as health care, food supply, and transportation, which are classified as essential services. Many are unable to isolate or stay home. Additionally, black households are also more likely to be dependent on public transport.

Linda Sprague Martinez, a community health researcher at Boston University’s School of Social Work believes that “When COVID-19 passes and we see the losses … its impact is going to be tied to our history and legacy of racial inequities. It’s going to be tied to the fact that we live in two very different worlds.”

NOTE: ARTICLE ENDS: Link to ProPublica article https://www.propublica.org/article/early-data-shows-african-americans-have-contracted-and-died-of-coronavirus-at-an-alarming-rate