A UCLA Fielding School of Public Health-led team has found that Hispanic, Black, and Native Americans have carried the burden of the pandemic, both in overall mortality and specifically in years of potential life lost, in an analysis of 45 U.S. states and the District of Columbia (D.C.).
“COVID-19 certainly didn’t cause these racial/ethnic disparities in health outcomes, but it did highlight and bring unprecedented national attention to long-standing societal and health inequalities that many communities of color in the U.S. face,” said
Dr. Ron Brookmeyer, dean of the Fielding School and distinguished professor of biostatistics. “It is imperative that we rise to the challenge of addressing the health needs of communities of color, both during the U.S. COVID-19 epidemic and long after its conclusion.”