As many as 215,000 more people than normal died in the United States in the first seven months of 2020, suggesting that the number of lives lost to the coronavirus is significantly higher than the official toll. And half of the dead were people of color – Blacks, Hispanics, Indians and, to a significant degree, hitherto unrecognized, Asian Americans.
The new figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highlight a stark difference: Deaths among minorities during the crisis have risen far more than they have among whites, including in harsh New Jersey.
As of the end of July, the official death toll in the US from COVID-19 was about 150,000. It has since grown to more than 170,000.
But public health authorities have long known that some coronavirus deaths, especially prematurely, were incorrectly attributed to other causes, and that the crisis could have indirectly led to the loss of many other lives by preventing or discouraging people with other serious diseases. to seek treatment.
A death toll from all causes in the seven-month period yields what experts think is a more complete – and more alarming – picture of the disaster and its racial dimensions.
People of color make up 40% of the U.S. population in July, but put about 52% of all “excessive deaths” above normal through July, according to an analysis by The Associated Press and The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization system.
In New Jersey, Hispanics, Blacks, and Asian Americans all saw dramatic and disproportionate increases in deaths compared to previous years. With the Garden State an epicenter of coronavirus, deaths this year were 124% higher among Hispanics compared to the average over the past five years, the analysis found. Deaths among Asian Americans rose 107%, and they increased 68% among Blacks. Among whites, the death toll was up 28%.
“The toll of the pandemic shows just how persistent structural racism is,” said Olugbenga Ajilore, a senior economist at the Center for American Progress, a public policy organization in Washington.
Earlier data on cases, hospitalizations and deaths revealed the particularly heavy toll on Black, Hispanic and Native American Americans, a difference attributed to unequal access to health care and economic opportunities. Gov. Phil Murphy has expressed concern about racial differences in Garden State, as well as public health experts and social justice advocates.
But nationally, the increases in total deaths by race have not been reported so far; nor was the disproportionate burden on Asian Americans.
With this new data, Asian Americans are joining Blacks and Hispanics among the heaviest hit communities, with deaths in each group this year at least 30% up compared to the average over the last five years, the analysis found. Deaths among Native Americans increased more than 20%, although this is likely to be a severe undercount due to a lack of data. Deaths among whites were up 9%.
Across the country, the toll on Asian Americans has received far less attention, perhaps in part because the death toll – about 14,000 more than normal this year – has been much lower than among several other groups. However, the 35% increase in Asian American deaths is the second highest, behind Hispanic Americans.
In an average year, about 1.7 million people die somewhere in the United States between January and the end of July. This year, the figure was about 1.9 million, according to the CDC.
Of the possible 215,000 extra deaths above normal by July – a total that has since risen to as many as 235,000 – most were officially attributed to coronavirus infections. The rest were accused of other causes, including heart disease, high blood pressure and other types of respiratory diseases.
The CDC has not yet provided a breakdown by race and ethnicity of the dead due to other causes. The newly released data is considered provisional and subject to change as more information is received. Certain categories of deaths – suicide or drug overdose, for example – often involve lengthy investigations before a cause is assigned.
For New Jersey, NJ Advance Media began tracking excessive deaths in May, when it revealed that the official death toll from the coronavirus state was potentially understated by 20%. But as the state counted its deaths – including the addition of more than 1,800 likely COVID deaths at the end of June – that gap seemed to disappear, with the two numbers equal.
The count of New Jersey on Friday stood at 15,941 dead. The state follows in part racial burglaries, and estimates that 53.3% of COVID’s deaths are white, 19.4% are Hispanic, 18.5% are black and 5.4% are Asian – numbers that the differences between Asian Americans do not suggest that the Associated Press and The Marshall Project Analysis showed.
The disproportionate effect of the outbreak on communities of color is not limited to a specific region of the country.
The virus first affected urban areas on the East and West coasts. But according to researcher Carrie Henning-Smith, University of Minnesota, differences have also been seen as the disease spreads across the country to southern and western states with large rural populations.
For example, Arizona reported nearly 60% more Native American deaths so far this year compared to previous years, and New Mexico recorded more than 40% more. Between the two states, more than 1,100 more Native Americans died than usual.
Another surprise: Only about half of Asian American deaths are officially linked to COVID-19, lower than for all other groups. Jarvis Chen, a lecturer at Harvard University’s public health school, said that Asian Americans may not be tested at the same rate as other groups, for reasons that are not clear, and that could result in some virus deaths to some otherwise.
Dr. Namratha Kandula of Northwestern University echoed that theory. They also warned against generalizing about the underlying health of Asian Americans as a whole, noting that they are a diverse group from many different peoples and cultures.
“It’s not enough to clump them all together because it does not tell the whole story,” she said.
Charlton Rhee, whose parents came from the South Korea to the US, both lost this COVID-19 this spring when the virus was growing in New York City.
His mother, Eulja Rhee, went out one day, and when she returned, “she told me someone was coughing in her face” when she got off a bus, said Rhee, a nursing home manager in Queens. “She was wearing a mask, but it came into her eyes.”
She died at the hospital, just sadly for her 75th birthday.
Rhee found out a day later that his father, Man Joon Rhee, had tested positive. “He had caught it from my mother,” he said. “His heart was broken. And he told me he wanted to know if it was OK to be with mom.”
He stayed home, received hospice care, and died at 83.
“The Asian American community has suffered greatly there,” and government officials provided little help, especially at first, Rhee said. Community associations had to step in with food strips, personal protective equipment and other assistance.
Racial differences in deaths predate COVID-19, and many forces combine to produce them: Some color communities are more likely to have lower incomes and share living space with larger families, thus increasing the risk of transmission. They have higher rates of health problems, including diabetes, obesity and lung disease, the result of living in places where healthier foods are harder to obtain and the environment is polluted. The same factors may make them more likely to become seriously ill than die from the coronavirus.
- They are more often uninsured and tend to live more often in hospitals.
- They are disproportionately arrested, which is linked to long-term effects on health.
- Experts point to a long history of discrimination that causes mistrust of the health care system.
- And people of color are more likely to feel essential roles that require them to continue working during the pandemic.
Dr. Sobiya Ansari, who primarily works with black immigrant cancer patients in New York City, worries if they miss or delay radiation or screenings. Though the city has seen double the number of Black deaths this year compared to previous years.
“If a storm hits and you are safe in your home, then you are safe,” she said. “Then there is a population of people who do not even have umbrellas. The storm hits, and they are just really chased away. ”
NJ Advance Media Reporter Riley Yates contributed to this report.
