What do people dying from coronavirus in US have in common?

June 18, 2022  11:24

The shape of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to change, and clearly the coronavirus and its strains do not follow many predictable patterns. But something has changed that may surprise even the most seasoned health experts: the demographic group of people most likely to die from the virus, writes Eat This, Not That!

Health disparities in the U.S. are a serious problem, and during the pandemic, experts, including Chief Infectious Disease Officer Dr. Anthony Fauci, pointed out that minorities were more vulnerable to COVID-19 and the negative effects.

But this week the New York Times reported that the people who die from COVID with the highest frequency have something in common: They are white.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over the past year, the death rate from COVID among white Americans was 14 percent higher than among African Americans and 72 percent higher than among Hispanics.

This statistic, he said, was essentially "reversed" because in the early months of the pandemic, the mortality rate among African Americans was nearly twice as high as among whites.

The answer lies in the vaccination rate. The percentage of African Americans and Hispanics who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 is now higher than among white Americans.

Efforts by community organizations to promote vaccination in specific communities have been successful. But vaccination rates among whites have not changed. The culprit is politics. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, only about 60% of Republican adults are vaccinated, compared to over 90% of Democrats and nearly 75% of independents.

Follow the basics and help end this pandemic, no matter where you live - get vaccinated as soon as possible; if you live in a low-vaccination area, wear a mask, don't travel, keep a social distance, avoid large crowds, don't stay in rooms with lots of people, keep hand hygiene, notes the portal.

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