COVID-19: WHAT DOES RACE HAVE TO DO WITH IT?

If you are a Native American and you contract COVID-19, the likelihood that you will die — unless you are elderly or have pre-existing conditions — is slim. That’s the good news. Nonetheless, your chance of dying is 2.4 times that of your white neighbor who is the same age. That’s the not-so-good news.

But, if it is any comfort, you are not alone. Your Latino friends fare only slightly better, with a mortality rate 2.3 times that of white Americans. For Blacks, the odds are 1.9. Asian Americans are the only major ethnic group with a survival rate equivalent to Caucasians. I cited these numbers in an article that I wrote last week, titled “This is What Race Looks Like in America Today” (published in The Shadow). That article focused on the racial inequality that persists in health care, in blatant attempts to make voting less convenient for minorities, and in the current wave of hate crimes directed at Asian Americans. As a nation, we clearly still have work to do.

This week I am happy to report some hopeful news. Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky assumed office on January 20th of this year as the 19th Director of the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC). A former professor of medicine at Harvard, Dr. Walensky has wasted no time in identifying and addressing areas of concern in the nation’s health care system. On Thursday of this week, she…