World News | As US Deaths Mount, Virus Takes Outsize Toll on Minorities

Washington, Aug 21 (AP) As many as 215,000 more people than usual died in the US during the first seven months of 2020, suggesting that the number of lives lost to the coronavirus is significantly higher than the official toll.

And half the dead were people of colour — Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans and, to a marked degree unrecognised until now, Asian Americans.

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The new figures from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention highlight a stark disparity: Deaths among minorities during the crisis have risen far more than they have among whites.

As of the end of July, the official death toll in the US from COVID-19 was about 150,000. It has since grown to over 170,000.

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But public health authorities have long known that some coronavirus deaths, especially early on, were mistakenly attributed to other causes, and that the crisis may have led indirectly to the loss of many other lives by preventing or discouraging people with other serious ailments from seeking treatment.

A count of deaths from all causes during the seven-month period yields what experts believe is a fuller — and more alarming — picture of the disaster and its racial dimensions.

People of colour make up just under 40% of the US population but accounted for approximately 52% of all the “excess deaths" above normal through July, according to an analysis by The Associated Press and The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organisation covering the criminal justice system.

“The toll of the pandemic shows just how pervasive structural racism is,” said Olugbenga Ajilore, senior economist at the Centrr for American Progress, a public policy organisation in Washington.

Earlier data on cases, hospitalisations and deaths revealed the especially heavy toll on Black, Hispanic and Native Americans, a disparity attributed to unequal access to health care and economic opportunities. But the increases in total deaths by race were not reported until now; nor was the disproportionate burden on Asian Americans.

With this new data, Asian Americans join Blacks and Hispanics among the hardest-hit communities, with deaths in each group up at least 30% this year compared with the average over the last five years, the analysis found.

Deaths among Native Americans rose more than 20%, though that is probably a severe undercount because of a lack of data. Deaths among whites were up 9%.

The toll on Asian Americans has received far less attention, perhaps in part because the numbers who have died -- about 14,000 more than normal this year -- have been far lower than among several other groups.

Still, the 35% increase in Asian American deaths is the second-highest, behind Hispanic Americans.

In an average year, somewhere around 1.7 million people die in the United States between January and the end of July. This year the figure was about 1.9 million, according to the CDC.

Of the possible 215,000 additional deaths above normal through July -- a total that has since risen to as many as 235,000 —- most were officially attributed to coronavirus infections. The rest were blamed on other causes, including heart disease, high blood pressure and other types of respiratory diseases.

The CDC has not yet provided a breakdown by race and ethnicity of the deaths from other causes. The newly released data is considered provisional and subject to change as more information comes in. Certain categories of deaths — suicides or drug overdoses, for example — often involve lengthy investigations before a cause is assigned.

The outbreak's disproportionate effect on communities of colour is not limited to a specific region of the country.

The virus first hit urban areas on the East and West coasts. But according to University of Minnesota researcher Carrie Henning-Smith, disparities have also been seen as the disease spread across the country to Southern and Western states with large rural populations.

For example, Arizona reported almost 60% more Native American deaths so far this year compared with previous years, and New Mexico recorded over 40% more. Between the two states, over 1,100 more Native Americans have died than normal.

Another surprise: Only about half of the Asian American deaths have been officially linked to COVID-19, lower than for all other groups.

Racial disparities in deaths predate COVID-19, and many forces combine to produce them:

— Some communities of colour are more likely to have lower incomes and to share living space with larger families, increasing the risk of transmission.

— They have higher rates of health problems, including diabetes, obesity and lung ailments, the result of living in places where healthier foods are harder to get and the environment is polluted. Those same factors can make them more likely to become severely ill or die from the coronavirus.

— They are more often uninsured and tend to live farther from hospitals.

— They are disproportionately incarcerated, which has been linked to long-term effects on health.

— Experts point to a long history of discrimination that causes distrust of the health care system.

— And people of colour are more likely to fill essential roles that require them to keep going to work during the pandemic.

Dr Sobiya Ansari, who works predominantly with Black immigrant cancer patients in New York City, worries when they miss or postpone radiation or screenings. Already, the city has seen double the number of Black deaths this year compared with previous years. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)