In the United States, communities of color experience higher rates of COVID-19-related hospitalizations, deaths.

According to data presented by the Infectious Disease Society of America, COVID-19 has had a “disparate impact” on members of the black and Hispanic/Latinx communities in the United States.

Worldwide, there have been more than 4.4 million cases of COVID-19 and more than 300,000 deaths. In the United States alone, more than 1.3 million people have been diagnosed with the disease and more than 80,000 people have died.

Cases and hospitalizations in New York have been disproportionately higher among communities of color throughout the pandemic. The latest available data from the CDC demonstrates that blacks, who comprise 12% of the U.S. population, account for 28% of COVID-19 cases and 33% of hospitalizations, whereas Hispanics account for 18% of the U.S. population and 28% of COVID-19 cases. In addition, data from New York show that blacks and Hispanics are three times more likely to be hospitalized and twice as likely to die from COVID-19.

The disparate impact of COVID-19 in these groups has highlighted long-standing vulnerabilities in these populations, including income, employment, housing, food and water security, incarceration and education. These factors have impacted health “for better or worse” over many generations.