A steady stream of research has shown that vulnerable communities in the United States are most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and a new study reveals an incredibly large inequity among a specific group in California.
Researchers at the University of Southern California found that Hispanic immigrants of working age, that is, between 20 and 54 years old – are 11.6 times more likely to die from the virus than men and women born in the United States who are not Hispanic. Looking at Hispanics the same age who were born in the United States and abroad, the death rate was 8.5 times higher than that of whites.
Among black men and women aged 20 to 54, the mortality rate from coronavirus was almost five times higher than that of whites.
These numbers are much higher than those at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which indicate that Hispanics in the U.S. are 2.3 times more likely to die from the virus and blacks 1.9 times more likely than whites.
“We all knew from the beginning of the pandemic, when the numbers increased, that there were differential impacts for different groups and we saw this especially for blacks and Hispanics,” said Erika Garcia, assistant professor of preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and principal study author. “We were unable to divide it by age group like this. Although we imagined that there would be differences, we did not expect it to be so large. With a proportion, the disparities in numbers are much greater among these young people who work with older people, especially for black and Hispanic individuals . “
Garcia and his co-authors said the study is a “call for state officials and public health departments to target vaccines and treatments to a demographic group that forms the backbone of the state’s agricultural and service industries”. according to a statement about the USC study.
For the study published on March 29 in the Annals of Epidemiology, the researchers analyzed the death certificates of 10,200 people who died of COVID in California from February 1 to July 31, 2020. “Death certificate data, rather than hospital or insurance data, allowed researchers to capture COVID deaths among historically marginalized groups, including immigrants, who may be underrepresented in health or insurance systems, “says the statement.
The characteristics most frequently observed among individuals were: age equal to or greater than 65 years, foreigner, male, Hispanic and level of education of high school or lower.
Garcia said that when they took a closer look at the data by age group, the disparities were most significant among the youngest in Asia / Pacific Islands, blacks, Hispanics and whites.
Although the study did not identify the reason for the disparities, Garcia said that she and the other authors of the study raised the hypothesis, based on other research, that blacks and Hispanics of working age are more likely to work in service industries that require who leave their homes daily, often for jobs that expose them to a large number of other people. Hispanics are also more likely to work in agriculture.
“Within each of these groups, there are differences in risk, and the risk factors can be different between blacks and Hispanics and men and women,” she said. “It has a lot to do with living conditions and whether there are several people living in a house. People who have to leave home to work are at greater risk and working conditions and having to use public transport also contribute to this. . The risk factor for COVID is greater if you have to contact more people. “
Jon Jacobo, chairman of the health task force of the Latin Task Force, based in San Francisco, was not entirely surprised by the results of the study, although he said he was surprised by the disparity between working-age Hispanics and whites.
“The number came up as something much bigger than I expected,” said Jacobo. “We know that the national average is 2.3 times higher. It is in line with the pain that we have seen on the front lines.”
Jacobo said the study highlights the pain experienced by Hispanics in agricultural jobs in the Central Valley, which was hammered by the pandemic. The Task Force is assisting COVID’s effort in Planada, a small farming community of 4,500 people west of Merced.
“We talked to people here who tested positive for their agricultural jobs, and then they have to drive two hours and pay $ 200 to $ 300 for a test to prove they were negative before they went back to work,” he said “These were some of the stories that were shared with us and that are painful to hear. You think about the disparities and inequities and access to resources among these agricultural workers who support all the food that comes to our homes and to the tables. “
He also noted that Hispanics were most affected not because of individual choices, but because of systems and policies that have existed for a long time.
“It’s not that we don’t know how to use masks,” he said. “It is not that we do not follow the guidelines of the CDC. And it is not that we do not think that this is real because, in fact, we know that it is real more than anyone else, because our community has been hit hard. were enacted with the founding of this country and continue to be perpetuated today. “