Black Americans experience disproportionate COVID-19 burden: report

LOS ANGELES -- Black Americans experienced a disproportionate COVID-19 burden in the early months of the pandemic and beyond, said a recent report released by the Black Coalition Against COVID, a Washington, DC-based community initiative.

The coalition, dedicated to saving Black lives by sharing trustworthy, science-based info about COVID-19, noted in the two-year assessment that data available in the early months of the pandemic indicated age-adjusted COVID-19 rates of infection, hospitalization, and death were highest among Black Americans.

The report pointed out that Black Americans also experienced significant economic, social, educational, and behavioral health crises.

Half of Black respondents included in one 2020 survey reported experiencing financial challenges. More than one in six Black workers lost jobs between February and April 2020. One in 310 Black children lost a parent or caregiver, compared to one in 738 White children between April 2020 and June 2021, according to the report.

The researchers of the report also noted that Black Americans faced discrimination and bias when seeking COVID-19 related health care.

"The harsh realities of COVID-19 were superimposed upon generational systems of disadvantage. The deep-seated history of marginalization and discrimination against Black Americans underlie inequities in education, employment, housing, nutrition, credit markets, health care, and the carceral system," said researchers in the report, adding that the COVID-19 took advantage of these cross-sectoral inequities to hamper health-promoting resilience in the face of the global pandemic.

"This report is a call to action to address the continued COVID-19 burden and highlight the need for continued vigilance to ensure equity for Black Americans," the researchers of the report concluded, noting that the work ahead will be more challenging than ever and requires well-designed, adequately-funded, and strategically-coordinated efforts at the national, regional, state, and local levels.