The majority of coronavirus victims in Chicago are black residents of the city. According to data from several U.S. states, African Americans are disproportionately represented among those infected with the coronavirus and among those who have died from Covid-19, compared to their representation in the overall U.S. population.
Complete statistics on the racial composition of those affected by and dying from Covid-19 in America are not currently available. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has not released such data (although there are activists who claim that the federal government is collecting this information).
To date, authorities in several states with large African-American communities and high numbers of cases, including New York, California, New Jersey, and Washington, have not released their data. However, statistics from the state of Illinois and the local metropolis of Chicago show that blacks suffer significantly more from the new coronavirus.
Blacks make up 30% of Chicago’s population. However, among those infected with the coronavirus, half are black, and among those who have died (118 as of Wednesday morning), about 70% are black. In Illinois as a whole, blacks make up 15% of the population, but account for 28% of confirmed cases and 43% of deaths.
A similar situation is observed in the states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Louisiana, North and South Carolina, writes The New York Times. Michigan ranks third in the number of deaths after New York and New Jersey. African Americans make up 14% of the population, but account for one-third of all cases and 40% of all deaths. More than a quarter of the deaths occurred in Detroit, where 79% of the population is African American, according to the Washington Post.
As noted in an interview with the Washington Post, Chicago Health Commissioner Allison Arwady stated that the life expectancy of the city’s black residents is, on average, nearly nine years less than that of white Chicagoans. Numerous studies show that the incidence of diabetes among Chicago’s black residents is twice that of the white population, and mortality from lung disease is nearly 20% higher. One in five African Americans has high blood pressure, which is a quarter higher than the rate among white Chicagoans. These are all risk factors that are statistically correlated with severe cases of Covid-19.
U.S. cities with large African American populations, including Detroit, Milwaukee, New Orleans, and New York, have become the epicenters of the pandemic.
The chronic diseases so prevalent in the African American community are the result of poverty caused by decades of racial discrimination. Because of poverty, many blacks cannot afford medical care, and several studies indicate that American doctors often ignore the complaints of black patients.
“The living conditions of the community, gaps in the social security system, unequal access to education and career opportunities, and finally, systemic and institutional racism that has led to inequality over many years – all of this is reflected in the Covid-19 situation,” the Washington Post quoted Arvada as saying.
In addition to being more susceptible due to chronic medical conditions, African Americans are also more likely to be infected with coronaviruses because many cannot afford to isolate themselves while working in places such as grocery stores, hospitals, or public transportation. Many do not have personal transportation and are forced to travel by bus or subway. Some experts believe that other low-status racial groups in the U.S. also suffer disproportionately from the epidemic, particularly Latinos and Native Americans.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, for example, suspects that many cases among the city’s Latinos are going undetected. Latinos make up 29% of Chicago’s population, but account for about 14% of Covid-19 cases, according to the Washington Post. Similarly, Asians make up 7% of Chicago’s population, but only 3.6% of those infected.
As noted in a Los Angeles Times editorial, Latinos have significantly higher rates of obesity and diabetes than whites, while Native Americans have higher rates of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, which also increases the risk of complications from Covid-19.