Data from 32 States and Washington DC Paint a Sobering Picture of How the Coronavirus is Disproportionately Affecting Communities of Color

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Data from 32 States and Washington DC Paint a Sobering Picture of How the Coronavirus is Disproportionately Affecting Communities of Color The increasing availability of state-reported data about COVID-19 cases and deaths by race and ethnicity confirms that across the country the coronavirus pandemic is hitting communities of color disproportionately hard, KFF researchers write in a Coronavirus Policy Watch blog post. KFF analyzed data from the 32 states and the District of Columbia that were reporting the distribution of confirmed coronavirus cases and/or deaths by race/ethnicity as of April 15, 2020. The analysis finds that: In the majority of states reporting data, Black people accounted for a higher share of confirmed cases (in 20 of 31 states) and deaths (in 19 of 24 states) compared to their share of the total population. Data also show disparate impacts for Hispanic and Asian people in some states, although a smaller number of states report data for these groups and there are inconsistencies in how states report these data. Data remain largely unavailable for smaller groups, including people who are American Indian and Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, limiting the ability to identify impacts for them even though they are at high risk due to underlying disparities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began reporting national data on confirmed coronavirus cases by race and ethnicity as of April 17. Similar to the state data, they suggest that the virus is having disproportionate effects, with Black people accounting for a higher share of confirmed cases with known race/ethnicity compared to their share of the total population. Race and ethnicity is missing or unspecified for the majority of the CDC-reported cases, however, limiting the ability to interpret the data. View the latest state data on our new interactive map. KFF will update these data regularly and include them on our State Data and Policy Actions to Address Coronavirus tracker. Filling the need for trusted information on national health issues, the Kaiser Family Foundation is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California.
Contact: Rakesh Singh | (650) 234-9232 | rsingh@kff.org
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