The analysis also showed that national COVID mortality trends were similar to Massachusetts rates, except that Blacks in younger age groups had a higher rate of COVID deaths per capita than Hispanics. Among the same age group, the mortality rate for Asians was 0.9 deaths per 10,000 people. In the 20-49 age range, the mortality rate was nearly three times higher among Hispanics (at 4.2 deaths per 10,000 people) and 2.5 times higher among Blacks (3.6 deaths per 10,000 people) than Whites (at 1.4 deaths per 10,000 people). This is unfortunately not surprising, given differences in job activities by race/ethnicity-for example, there was a lot of discussion early in the pandemic about the large number of essential workers in cities like Chelsea.” “Clearly there are also elements related to chronic health conditions for which there are racial/ethnic disparities, as well as things like access to healthcare and vaccination or booster status, but the exposure disparity plays an important role. “Who is exposed is a big part of the story,” Levy says. This is attributable in part to wide racial/ethnic disparities in COVID case rates, including 34 cases per 100 people among Hispanic residents, but only 13 cases per 100 people among White residents. The mortality rate among non-Hispanic Asian residents was lower across all age groups, in comparison to non-Hispanic White residents. For residents over 80 years old, the Black and Hispanic mortality rates were closer to the White rates, but still elevated. They found that Hispanic and Black residents were disproportionately impacted across every adult age group-especially among residents ages 20-49. While the state reports death rates by age and by race/ethnicity separately, because mortality rates differ substantially by age, the researchers calculated rates stratified across both age and race/ethnicity. Working with datasets from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health that were obtained by The Boston Globe, the researchers examined death counts of confirmed and probable COVID cases from Januthrough January 11, 2022. The data served as the basis for a recent article in The Globe that examined disproportionate COVID mortality rates in the Commonwealth, and the families whose lives have been permanently altered. Jonathan Levy, chair and professor of environmental health, working with a team of faculty members, staff, and students in the Departments of Environmental Health (EH) and Biostatistics, developed the analysis at the request of The Boston Globe. A new analysis by School of Public Health researchers has found that COVID-19 death rates in Massachusetts are higher among Hispanic and Black residents than White residents in every adult age group-but particularly among younger adults in their prime parenting and professional years, where rates are up to 3 times higher. Two years into the pandemic, Black and Hispanic communities continue to be disproportionately burdened by COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |