New Report Says Over 20,000 Black Americans Have Died From COVID-19
More than 20,000 African Americans – about one in 2,000 of the entire Black population in the U.S. – have died from COVID-19, according to The Guardian.
Blacks have died at a rate of 50.3 per 100,000 people compared to a rate of 20.7 for whites.
According to data from APM Research Lab, which was released on Wednesday (May 20), there is an overwhelming division in the COVID-19 death rate between Black Americans and the rest of the United States.
“The disparities are continuing to be reflected in the data, yet we still have a complete lack of guidance from the federal government about how to mitigate these divisions. There is no real plan how to deal with it,” CEO of Advancing Health Equity, Uché Blackstock said.
In Kansas, Black residents have died at a rate seven times more than white residents. In Washington, D.C., the disproportionate amounts of deaths of African-Americans and white Americans is six times. In states like Missouri and Michigan it’s five times, and in the nation’s major hotspots -- Illinois, Louisiana, and New York, the disparity is three times that of whites.
With co-morbidities like diabetes, hypertension and obesity are a contributing factor to the number of coronavirus cases, The New York Times reports that Black Americans are disadvantaged when it comes to the access of t tests and treatments for the disease.
Michigan and New York have a separate plan as the pandemic continues to unravel after the Trump administration has yet to step up and dive deeper to tackle the growing health crisis. Both states have assembled special taskforces to help confront the suffering in communities that have been severely disproportionately affected by COVID-19.
“At this point we have to assume that the clear lack of guidance from the federal government is going to continue, and that states are going to have to do it for themselves,” Blackstock said.
For the latest on the coronavirus, check out BET’s blog on the virus, and contact your local health department or visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
