A new study points to disparities between Black and brown communities and white populations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The team analyzed approximately 18 million coronavirus tests. The study found that Black and Hispanic people were more likely to test positive for COVID-19 than white Americans.
Daniel Harris, assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Delaware, led the research team.
“Black and brown communities are marginalized in many ways here in the United States, which puts them at increased risk of exposure to diseases like COVID-19,” Harris said. said.
The study also found that Black and Hispanic communities are more likely to be at the forefront of infection when new variants of COVID-19 emerge.
“This is important because the epidemiology of new strains is less well-known and less well-characterized,” Harris said, adding, “In general, what is the infectivity and morbidity profile of new strains? “We don’t know what it is. What this means is that certain communities are infected with the new virus.” I felt the brunt of that newness. ”
Harris’ research was conducted in collaboration with colleagues at Brown University and Walgreens, and was funded in part by a grant from the National Institute on Aging.
