- cross-posted to:
- coronavirus@lemmy.ml
68% of COVID-19 deaths during the first year of the pandemic were adults in low socioeconomic positions
University of South Florida epidemiologist Jason Salemi's research confirmed associations between COVID-19 mortality rates and socioeconomic position, gender, ethnicity and race.
Salemi's research shows:
- The mortality rate of low SEP adults is five times higher when compared to high SEP adults, and the mortality rate of intermediate SEP adults is two times higher.
- White women make up the largest population group considered high SEP. In contrast, nearly 60 percent of Hispanic men are in a low SEP.
- When compared, the mortality rate of low SEP Hispanic men is 27 times higher than high SEP white women.
"The degree to which it takes a toll on communities is very unevenly distributed and we wanted to call attention to that issue," Salemi said.
Reminder that crackers started storming state capitols demanding lockdowns end about a week after news reported covid was harming black people at far greater rates than anyone else.
The "return to normal" was driven by complete disregard to the lives of low wage workers and outright racism.
But I'm sure things are great now that the "pandemic is over". Genocide Joe and the party of science wouldn't lie to you. Capitalism wouldn't just sacrifice workers like that, right?
The disparity of outcomes in race seems to have more to do with the US have more to do with the burden of systemic racism and more people as a percentage of their population being poor or working class, so high risk jobs, greater environmental stressors, lack of access to adequate healthcare, along with the healthcare system being racist.
The better outcomes reported in Africa seem to be from under-testing, this study states that about 50% of Africans who got a confirmed covid infection have long covid, which probably means they were missing a lot of people with covid testing.
You can see how excess deaths compare to actual covid cases in South Africa here: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(22)00425-9/fulltext
Like most other places around the world, excess deaths skyrocket during big covid waves.
(Western Africa has 17%)
That 50% figure is for North Africans and Whites, not Black Africans (who have a 10% Long-Covid symptom frequency when east/west are averaged)