Excess Deaths Among Blacks and Latinx Compared to Whites During Covid-19

• Published in: Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities 2021-06, Vol.8 (3), p.783-789
• Main Authors: Laurencin, Cato T., Wu, Z Helen, McClinton, Aneesah, Grady, James J., Walker, Joanne M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: African Americans - statistics & numerical data; Black people; Connecticut - epidemiology; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - ethnology; COVID-19 - mortality; Cross-Sectional Studies; Epidemiology; Ethnic differences; Ethnicity; Fatalities; Health Status Disparities; Hispanic Americans; Hispanic or Latino - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Infections; Medical diagnosis; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Minority & ethnic groups; Mortality; Mortality - ethnology; Mortality rates; News; Pandemics; Public health; Quality of Life Research; Race; Race factors; Racial differences; Racial inequality; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Social Inequality; Social Structure; Tests; Viral diseases; White people; Whites - statistics & numerical data
• ISSN: 2197-3792; 2196-8837
• DOI: 10.1007/s40615-021-01010-x

Importance Blacks and Latinx are disproportionately affected by Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) and experience higher mortality rates than Whites and Asians in the USA. Such racial disparities, in Covid-19 testing, cases, and mortality are visible in Connecticut too. Recently, excess deaths have become an important consideration in news reports and academic research. However, data on racial differences in excess death is limited. Objective This study examines racial/ethnic differences in excess deaths in the state of Connecticut during the Covid-19 pandemic. Design This is a cross-sectional epidemiological study to estimate excess deaths by racial/ethnic status utilizing mortality data during the peak months of Covid-19 infections from March 1 to June 30, 2020, in Connecticut. The following assumption is applied: expected non-Covid-19 deaths from March 1 to June 30, 2020, are equal to the number of deaths occurring during the period of March 1 to June 30, 2019. Race/ethnicity are defined as Non-Hispanic White, Non-Hispanic Black, and Latinx. Descriptive statistics and rates with 95% confidence intervals are presented. Chi-square analyses are performed where applicable. Setting Connecticut Participants All deaths in Connecticut from March 1 to June 30, 2020. Exposure Covid-19 and race/ethnicity Results From March 1 to June 30, 2020, a total of 14,226 all-cause deaths occurred including 1514 Blacks (10.6%), 1095 Latinx (7.7%), and 11,617 Whites (81.7%). This represented a 74% increase in mortality for Blacks; 63% for Latinx, and 30% for Whites. In addition, 42.70% of the deaths in Blacks were attributed to Covid-19; 38.5% for Latinx, and 23.0% for Whites ( p