Los Angeles County is witnessing new “horrible” levels of COVID-19 deaths among its Latin population, leading to new calls for more government assistance for essential workers and those living in overcrowded housing, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The death rate from viruses among Latinos in LA County is almost three times that of white residents among all groups, the newspaper reported.
The most recent increase has caused deaths among Latin residents to skyrocket more than 1,000% since the fall.
During a two-week period in November, the number of Latino residents in LA County dying from the virus daily was 3½ per 100,000, on average, according to the agency. That number has now skyrocketed to 40 deaths per 100,000 Latino residents.
“Our Latinx community is, in fact, enduring the worst of this pandemic,” Barbara County public health director Barbara Ferrer told The Times.
Latinos and other people of color have been disproportionately hit by the virus from the start. A report by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention this summer found that Hispanic and black patients accounted for almost two-thirds of deaths from COVID-19 among people under 65.
Former surgeon general Jerome Adams told Insider in July that part of the virus’s disproportionate impact on people of color can be attributed to “social determinants of health”.
LA County is the most populous county in the country and also has the highest proportion of overcrowded homes in any major metropolitan area in the United States. Certain Latin neighborhoods are overcrowded and are home to a large proportion of essential workers, The Times reported.
Latino workers also have the highest rate of employment in frontline jobs with a high risk of exposure to COVID-19, according to the UC Berkeley Labor Center.
According to the LA Times, 55% of Latinos work in these jobs, and 48% of black residents do so. Meanwhile, 35% of white residents are working on the front lines.
The authorities think that these essential workers are exposed to the virus at work just to bring it home and spread it among family members and housemates.
“Although every racial and ethnic group in LA County has seen a horrible increase in death rates, the difference between the experiences of those in our Latinx community and everyone else is downright horrible,” said Ferrer.
Despite being an epicenter of the current virus, LA restaurants reopened for open-air dinners on Friday, although restaurant workers under the age of 65 are not yet eligible for the vaccine.
Other county residents have also seen a jump in the COVID-19 death rate since November. Black residents now have an average of 20 deaths per day for every 100,000 residents, compared to one death per day in the fall, according to the LA Times. The Asian resident rate has grown from one daily death per 100,000 in November to 17 deaths per 100,000.
At a news conference earlier this month, Los Angeles City Mayor Nury Martinez said that inequality cannot be ignored. She said the government should provide aid to the most affected communities in LA and that vaccinating essential workers is crucial.
“If we don’t focus on equity now, I will say who will get the vaccine: it will be the people who will have the luxury of staying at home and sending their children to open private schools and learning centers in the neighborhood,” said Martinez. “And those who are not going to get the vaccine will be the babysitters, the maids, the maids and gardeners, the people who take our groceries, who prepare our food every day, who deliver our mail and clean our streets”.
LA county officials are expressing growing concern about inadequate access to the vaccine for the people who need it most, the Times reported. There are claims that there is a lower rate of vaccines available to health professionals who live in southern Los Angeles, an area that is home to substantial populations of Latino and black residents.
Authorities said they expected more predictable shipments and the possibility of an approved vaccine manufactured by Johnson & Johnson to help.