Covid-19 killed a disproportionate number of the country's Blacks, Latinos and Native Americans during the pandemic last year, while the disease also exacerbated health disparities among those groups, a new study concludes.
An estimated 477,200 more people died, due to Covid-19 and other reasons, between March and December 2020 compared to the same time in 2019, according to a study led by researchers with the National Cancer Institute published Monday in Annals of Internal Medicine.
Overall deaths of male and female Blacks, Latinos and Native Americans were 2 to 3 times higher compared with white and Asian male and females during the 2020 period assessed, when population per 100,000 persons were accounted for, the study said.
Of the 477,200 “excess deaths” in 2020, 351,400 — or about 74 percent — died from Covid as the underlying cause, researchers said. The study said Black, Latino and Native American Covid related deaths were “at least 2 times higher” than their white counterparts.
The disparities were similar when factoring in the 61,200 deaths that weren’t attributed to Covid, the study said. Deaths among Blacks and Native Americans were 3 to 4 times higher, and Latino deaths were nearly 2 times higher, compared to white populations, the study said.
Meredith Shiels, an investigator with the National Cancer Institute who led the study, said in an email Tuesday that the disproportionate effects of the pandemic on Black, Latino and Native American communities highlight the urgency of curtailing "longstanding structural inequities."
"These findings warn us that there is likely to be a severe widening of racial/ethnic disparities in all-cause mortality as longer-term data are released," she said. "Although vaccination rates accelerated rapidly during the spring of 2021, racial/ethnic inequities continue and will further drive mortality disparities if not addressed with urgency and cultural competence, as has been done by tribal communities."
Blacks, Latinos and Native Americans also were dying at higher rates — although there were increases among all groups — due to medical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer in 2020, per the study.
“Although racial/ethnic differences in COVID-19 death rates have been profound, focusing on COVID-19 deaths alone may underestimate the extent of racial/ethnic disparities driven by the pandemic," researchers said.
In total, 2.88 million people died in the time analyzed by the study in 2020. Researchers collected death certificate data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with population estimates from the Census Bureau, to reach its conclusions.
The study listed structural inequities as factors that have led to the pandemic affecting many communities of color negatively.
“Racial/ethnic disparities in COVID-19 risk, hospitalization, and death have been attributed to structural and social determinants of health with established and deep roots in racism,” the study said.
The study mentioned specific social barriers among Blacks, Latinos and Native Americans that contributed to the disparities.
“Black and Latino persons are more likely to have occupational exposures to COVID-19 than White persons; they also are more likely to live in multigenerational households and more densely populated neighborhoods and have less access to health care and private transportation," researchers said.
"American Indian/Alaska Native reservation–based communities are at further risk for infection due to a lack of infrastructure and chronically underfunded health care facilities. Equitable vaccine distribution is needed to prevent further exacerbation of racial/ethnic disparities in COVID-19 risk and mortality."
The study emphasized increasing vaccination rates as a key weapon in reducing disparities. Vaccination hesitancy among Black and Latino communities were an impediment during the rollout last year, officials said.
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