Covid-19’s Highlation of Systemic Racism  

America is facing, as some may consider, two pandemics, Covid-19 and Racism. Despite these issues being seemingly unrelated they are indeed related. In the act to fight against the virus people of color are suffering for a variety of reasons. Black people are about five times more likely to be affected by the virus compared to white Americans, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control (Figure1). With people of color comprising many front-line minimum wage workers, along with the social disparities they face in need of medical attention, the risks as a person of color during this time are extremely high.  

Systemic racism has resulted in a chain effect of negative outcomes, including dire need for medical attention in these times of Covid-19. The CDC draws attention to the impact money has on people’s protection against the virus. Factors like, jobs, housing, and income are leading examples of where people of color have been disadvantaged. These communities of color defined as “red zones” are poverty stricken and set up to be unsuccessful with a poor school system, leading to a lessoned chance of students pursuing college, also leading to a lower rate of successful jobs, and more jobs that are considered “essential work” (CDC). These employees of factory, grocery store, and public transportation workers, are all jobs that are essential however cannot be done by the comfort of your home. This chain reaction results in a continuous cycle of low wage jobs, with poor health insurance, where medical needs are not met and at this time, Covid-19 medical care is an essential part in slowing the virus. As these communities are set to be unsuccessful, the rates of cases by these communities are much higher.  

Recent events have made it clear racism continues to be a major problem in America, despite the progress our country has made, systemic racism continues to be a prevalent problem even in our hospitals. Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha, a professor at Tufts University’s School of Medicine, explains the disadvantage black people face in terms of medical priority. She states, “Racism plays out in the rationing of equipment for people who are testing positive for COVID and even in back room decisions about who is eligible to get tests.” With the overpopulated hospitals during this time, space and equipment are too limited to maintain a proper work environment. Amutah-Onukagha touches on the decision-making process when rationing what patient gets what medical supplies. She reasons that due to the 5 times death rate in people of color, systemic racism has a play in the high amount of deaths. Whether intentionally or subconsciously, it is clear that color is used against individuals, including in life or death situations. Shannon Liss-Riordan, an American Labor Attorney, known as the face for low wage employees’ quotes “…this pandemic is just highlighting disparities”, in context she defines that these inequalities have always been a prevalent issue, however considering the pandemic is has become clear that social injustice is a major issue in America. 

Figure 1. COVID-19 death rates by age and race 

Rates per 100,000 

Source: CDC data from 2/1/20-6/6/20 and 2018 Census Population Estimates for USA 

Citations:

Ford, T., Reber, S., & Reeves, R. (2020, June 17). Race gaps in COVID-19 deaths are even bigger than they appear. 

Health Equity Considerations and Racial and Ethnic Minority Groups. (n.d.). 

McNeil, T. (2020, July 13). Why People of Color Are Suffering More from COVID-19.