Racial residential segregation and economic disparity jointly exacerbate COVID-19 fatality in large American cities.

ABSTRACT: The disproportionately high rates of both infections and deaths among racial and ethnic minorities (especially Blacks and Hispanics) in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic are consistent with the conclusion that structural inequality can produce lethal consequences. However, the nature of this structural inequality in relation to COVID-19 is poorly understood. Here, we hypothesized that two structural features, racial residential segregation and income inequality, of metropolitan areas in the United States have contributed to health-compromising conditions, which, in turn, have increased COVID-19 fatalities; moreover, that these two features, when combined, may be particularly lethal. To test this hypothesis, we examined the growth rate of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths in

SUBMITTER: Yu Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8013888 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature