US: COVID-19 hospitalize more Black, Latino, Natives

ANKARA

Blacks, Latinos, and Native Americans are hospitalized more often because of the novel coronavirus compared to other groups in the US, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Hispanics or Latinos were hospitalized 4.2 times more than non-Hispanic Whites, data showed between March 1 to Nov. 7 among 70,825 confirmed COVID-19 cases.

Hospitalization rates for American Indians or Alaska Natives, and non-Hispanic Blacks were 4.1 and 3.9 times of non-Hispanic Whites, respectively, said the CDC report published Friday.

The results are in line with reports that non-White Americans are the most affected in the US from the pandemic, in part because they have less job security and access to private health insurance.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has unmasked longstanding racial and ethnic health-related disparities," the American Heart Association said May 4, stressing higher rates of hospitalizations, deaths, and positive cases among Blacks, Hispanic/Latin, and Native Americans.

"There’s a saying that when America catches a cold, African Americans catch pneumonia," Lisa A. Cooper, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity, said April 16.

Cooper said testing positive for COVID-19 could also have a negative impact on one's chances of housing and employment.

"Both the COVID 19 pandemic and the epidemic of violent police misconduct that has reached a tipping point this spring have disproportionately affected African Americans and other communities of color," she said July 13.

Overall, there are more than 11.2 million cases of the virus in the US with an excess of 247,000 deaths.

Global figures stood at 55.1 million cases and 1.32 million deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.