HOUSTON – In Houston, Hispanics are leading the numbers of coronavirus cases where the patient’s race is known. There are 10.5K Hispanics in Harris County and Houston who have COVID-19 and 4.7k African Americans with the illness.
Nationwide, you hear more emphasis on the stats of African Americans because they’re dying at a faster rate than other races-- two and a half times that of whites and Asians.
As the number of COVID-19 patients continues to tick upwards, experts say it’s clear the virus is taking a toll on minorities.
Adam Milam, MD, PhD, of Cedars-Sinai told Ivanhoe, “We’ve been putting band-aids on a lot of these issues, but not addressing the core issues.”
Milam detailed COVID disparities in a newly published article in the journal, Health Equity. One reason for the disparity, Milam said, minorities have a higher incidence of other health conditions.
“African Americans have a higher prevalence of diabetes, higher prevalence of high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease— all of those are risk factors for COVID-19,” Milam elaborated.
Researchers say that’s just a part of a much broader picture.
Noble Maseru, PhD, of the Center for Health Equity at Pitt Public Health expressed, “Racism is not on the death certificate.”
But Maseru said pre-existing social conditions do contribute to COVID. Limited access to health care and affordable housing, undernutrition, low wages and economic insecurity. Many employees in service industries could not afford to stay home during the pandemic.
“They’re going out as part of that essential workforce, and so they’re additionally exposing themselves, and they’re already vulnerable,” Maseru explained.
In the short-term Maseru advocates more testing and contact tracing in underserved communities. Long-term? He says adopting a federal living wage will help families close the health gaps.
Milam stated, “Now is the opportunity to address some of these issues that have been lingering for three to four decades.”
Noble Maseru says housing is also an issue driving COVID infection. In some minority communities, there are several generations or multiple families living in one home, making it easier for the virus to spread.