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. 2020 Aug 17;222(6):890-893.
doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiaa372.

Racial Disparity of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in African American Communities

Ravina Kullar  1 , Jasmine R Marcelin  2 , Talia H Swartz  3 , Damani A Piggott  4 , Raul Macias Gil  5 , Trini A Mathew  6 , Tina Tan  7
Affiliations

Racial Disparity of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in African American Communities

Ravina Kullar et al. J Infect Dis. .

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has unveiled unsettling disparities in the outcome of the disease among African Americans. These disparities are not new but are rooted in structural inequities that must be addressed to adequately care for communities of color. We describe the historical context of these structural inequities, their impact on the progression of COVID-19 in the African American (black) community, and suggest a multifaceted approach to addressing these healthcare disparities. (Of note, terminology from survey data cited for this article varied from blacks, African Americans, or both; for consistency, we use African Americans throughout.).

Keywords: African Americans; COVID-19; SARS-CoV2; coronavirus; racial disparity.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Proportion of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) cases in African Americans versus proportion of African Americans in state population, from states reporting preliminary data. COVID-19 data are from the COVID Tracking Project [16], and state poulation demographic data from the US Census [17]. Asterisks denote states reporting a disproportionate percentage of COVID-19 cases in African Americans, relative to their proportion of the state population. (Note that data from some states are incomplete, and data from New York City are shown separately, consistent with reporting from the New York Department of Health. States not reporting race-disaggregated data are not included.)
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Proportion of deaths from coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) in African Americans versus proportion of African Americans in state population, from states reporting preliminary data. COVID-19 data are from the COVID Tracking Project [16], and state poulation demographic data from the US Census [17]. Asterisks denote states reporting a disproportionate percentage of COVID-19 deaths in African Americans, relative to their proportion of the state population. (Note that data from some states are incomplete, and data from New York City and New York State [excluding New York City] are shown separately, consistent with reporting from the New York Department of Health. States not reporting race-disaggregated data are not included.)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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