Jerry Ramos spent his final days in a California hospital, connected to an oxygen machine to help him fight COVID-19. But his 3-year-old daughter was in his thoughts. Ramos wrote on Facebook, “I have to be here to watch my princess grow up.” He did not live to see it. He died on Feb. 15 at the age of 32. The Mexican-American restaurant worker became one of the 600,000 Americans who have died from the virus so far. His death also represented the pandemic’s effect on the racial and ethnic inequalities in the U.S. During the first wave of deaths in April 2020, the virus went through cities with large Black populations in the Northeast, as well as Detroit, Michigan and New Orleans in Louisiana. Black Americans were hit the hardest during that time. During a second increase last summer, high cases of infection in the states of Texas and Florida caused Hispanics to die at the highest rate. And during the third winter increase, the worst of all, cases were high across the entire country. The weekly death rates narrowed so much that whites were the worst off. And Hispanics closely followed. Now, the virus has slowed and more people are getting vaccinated. But Blacks and Hispanics continue to die at higher rates than other groups. An Associated Press study shows that, overall, Black and Hispanic Americans have less access to medical care and are in poorer health. They have higher rates of health conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure. Blacks and Hispanics are more likely to have jobs that require their physical presence at work. They are less able to work from home. They are also more likely to live in larger households, where family members may spread the virus. Black Americans account for 15 percent of all COVID-19 deaths where race is known. Hispanics represent 19 percent, whites 61 percent and Asian Americans 4 percent. Those numbers are close to each groups' share of the U.S. population. But a closer look at age shows a clearer picture of inequality. Blacks and Hispanics are younger on average than whites. So it would make sense that they would die at lower rates from a disease that severely affects older populations. But that is not what is happening. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) looked at death rates, adjusting for population age differences. The CDC estimates that Native Americans, Hispanics and Blacks are two to three times more likely than whites to die of COVID-19. The AP research also found that Hispanics, like Ramos, are dying at much younger ages than other groups. Thirty-seven percent of Hispanic deaths were of those under 65, versus 12 percent for white Americans and 30 percent for Black people. Hispanics between 30 and 39 have died at five times the rate of white people in the same age group. Public health experts say the nation needs to look at these differences.
