Race, inequality and Covid-19 risk

There have been disturbing reports of black Americans dying from the novel coronavirus at a disproportionate rate.

You may remember I told you that a virus doesn't discriminate. And that is still true.

But there are other factors that play a part into how susceptible certain communities are to the virus. US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams has sounded the alarm about the racial disparity.

"The chronic burden of medical ills is likely to make people of color less resilient to the ravages of Covid-19 and it is possibly, in fact, likely, that the burden of social ills is also contributing," Adams said.

In Michigan, where I grew up, 14% of the population is black, yet they made up 41% of coronavirus deaths last week. In Illinois, 15% identify as black or African American, but they make up 43% of deaths. A similar pattern emerged in Louisiana.

There's no doubt this virus has brought into even greater focus the structural inequalities in our health care system that put certain communities at greater risk.

Black Americans have higher rates of some underlying conditions such as heart disease and diabetes -- conditions that may also increase their risk for serious illness from Covid-19. On top of that, black America is disproportionately at the front line of this pandemic: people working and risking their lives in order to keep the country running not just within health care settings, but also food delivery, grocery stores and pharmacies.