Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
New CDC Data Reinforces Evidence That Black, Latino Americans Disproportionately Hit By Pandemic
Early numbers had shown that Black and Latino people were being harmed by the virus at higher rates. But the new federal data 鈥 made available after The New York Times sued the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 鈥 reveals a clearer and more complete picture: Black and Latino people have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus in a widespread manner that spans the country, throughout hundreds of counties in urban, suburban and rural areas, and across all age groups. (Oppel Jr., Gebeloff, Lai, Wright and Smith, 7/5)
Doctors have known it for a long time, well before the resounding cries of 鈥淏lack Lives Matter鈥: Black people suffer disproportionately. They face countless challenges to good health, among them food, transportation and income. The stress of living with racism has very real, physical effects. And they are especially prone to diabetes, hypertension and other chronic diseases that can be tricky to manage even in normal times. (Tanner, 7/5)
The United States saw the widest gap in unemployment rates for African Americans and whites in five years in June, underscoring an uneven nascent recovery from historic job losses triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. (Marte, 7/2)
I鈥檓 feeling it, my friends and family are feeling it: the weight of this moment is immeasurable. Black Americans have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus pandemic. This has been compounded by the tragic deaths of Black men and women 鈥 lives cut short at the hands of police and vigilantes.聽(Milner, 7/6)