The Magnitude of Black/Hispanic Disparity in COVID-19 Mortality Across United States Counties During the First Waves of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

ABSTRACT: Objectives: To quantify the Black/Hispanic disparity in COVID-19 mortality in the United States (US). Methods: COVID-19 deaths in all US counties nationwide were analyzed to estimate COVID-19 mortality rate ratios by county-level proportions of Black/Hispanic residents, using mixed-effects Poisson regression. Excess COVID-19 mortality counts, relative to predicted under a counterfactual scenario of no racial/ethnic disparity gradient, were estimated. Results: County-level COVID-19 mortality rates increased monotonically with county-level proportions of Black and Hispanic residents, up to 5.4-fold (≥43% Black) and 11.6-fold (≥55% Hispanic) higher compared to counties with <5% Black and <15% Hispanic residents, respectively, controlling for county-level poverty, age, and

SUBMITTER: Im C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8493931 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature