The Washington Post - USA (2020-08-02)

A12 EZ RE THEWASHINGTONPOST.SUNDAY,AUGUST 2 , 2020

BYREISTHEBAULT

ANDALYSSAFOWERS

It’s amilestonethe countrywas
never supposedto reach.
First, therewerethe reassur-
ances: “Likeamiracle, it will
disappear,” the presidentprom-
isedmonthsago. Andthencame
the shutdowns,withcallsfor a
coherent national strategyand
optimistic projected death tolls.
Butthe divinehas not inter-
vened.Theshutdownswerelift-
ed, the warningsignoredand the
predictionssurpassed.Andnow,
the novelcoronavirushas official-
ly killedmorethan150,000peo-
ple in the UnitedStates, accord-
ing to data gatheredby TheWash-
ington Post.While thedisease
continuestokill the oldestwith
impunity, otherdisturbing trends
have emerged.
Amongthem:Hispanicsmake
up an increasingproportionof
covid-19deaths. More than
25,800have beenstruckdownby
the mercilesspathogen, which
nowaccountsfor 1out of every
deaths amongHispanics,accord-
ing to data fromthe Centersfor
DiseaseControlandPrevention
analyzedby ThePost.
America’sdeath countreached
six figuresjustafter Memorial
Day. In the summerweeksthat
followed, leaders who trium-
phantlyreopenedtheirstates re-
versedcourseas coronavirusin-
fectionssoaredamongtheirresi-
dents.Insteadof jump-starting
the economy, the restartfueled
the virus’sspread.
Thenationalfatalityrate, on
the declinefor mostofJune,be-
ganrisingsteadilyin July,and
scenesfromthe pandemic’s dark-
estdays—the overwhelmedhos-
pitalsandoverflowingmorguesof
NewYork City—were reenacted
in states acrossthe Southand
West.
Thecontoursof the crisishave
not changed much:Thevirushas
continuedtodeepenthe country’s
dividesandexploitits systemic
inequities. Thewillingness to
wearamask,perhaps the most
basicprecaution, varies widelyby
political affiliation. And those
hurt most by the rampantspread
are still overwhelminglyelderly
and disproportionately peopleof
color.
Newnumbers published re-
centlyby the CDCpresentone of
the mostcomplete picturesyetof
the pandemic’s evolving impact
and shifting burden.
When the virus firstswept
acrossthe country, it devastated
Blackcommunities, killingAfri-
canAmericansat adispropor-
tionately highrateinnearlyevery
jurisdictionthatpublishedrace
data. In recentweeks,Hispanics
and Native Americanshavemade
up an increasingproportionof
covid-19 deaths. Thediseasenow
accounts fornearly20 percentof
all deaths amongthosegroups,
higher thananyother race or
ethnicityinrecentweeks,accord-
ing to aPostanalysisof the CDC
data.
Bothin hot spotstates, and in
states wherethe totalnumberof
deaths has decreased,Hispanics
makeupanincreasingshareof
thosedeaths —asignalthatthe
pandemic’s shifting demograph-
ics are notdueto its shifting
geography.
Thedeath rateamongNative
Americans, meanwhile, has

stayed somewhatconsistent,even

as it declinesfor othergroups.

States have reported an aver-

ageofmore than1,000virus-re-

lated deaths per daylastweek, the

highestratesince late May, and

experts saythe toll is likely to

increaserapidly.

“We’replayingwithfire and

gasolineand pineneedles,and it

couldverywell explodein our

face,andI’mveryconcernedit

will withoutseriousand concert-

ed action,”said HowardMarkel, a

historianand physicianat the

UniversityofMichigan. “I fear

thatweare headed, giventhe way

it’s beinghandled,to the worst

contagiouscrisisin humanhis-

tory.”

Official governmenttalliestell

onlypartofthe story. Thetrue toll

probablyexceeded150,000weeks

ago. Epidemiologists saythe

country’sshoddy testing infra-

structurehas allowedvirusfatali-

ties to go undiagnosed. Also, the

pandemic’s far-reachingeffecton

the health-caresystem has almost

certainlycontributed indirectly

to manymore deaths —inpeople

afraid to seekmedicalcarefor

othermaladies,for example.

Somefear the growingtoll will

have anumbingeffectonAmeri-

cans’psyches.

“Atsomepoint,the numbers

getsobig thattheylose their

impact,”said CaitlinRivers,an

epidemiologistatthe Johns Hop-

kinsCenterfor Health Security. “I

worryaswecontinue to mark

thesemilestonesthattheyjust

becomenumbers,andtheystop

really resonating with us as

deaths.”

In the pandemic’s firstfew

months,deadlyoutbreaksin New

York, alongwithsurges in other

citiesin the Northeastand Mid-

west, fueledthe country’stoll. In

mid-April,NewYork statereport-

ed morethan1,000deaths in a

singledaythreetimes,accounting

for nearlyhalfof all deaths na-

tionally.

But now the virus is en-

trenchedin the SunBelt.Texas,

Florida,California,Arizonaand

SouthCarolinahave recordedthe

mostaverage dailydeaths in the

pastweek.MississippiandLouisi-

ana alsohave seensharpupticks

in theirnumbersof fatalitiesper

capita.

Andin manyofthese places,

wherethe Hispanicshareof the

populationis far higherthanthe

national average, thecoronavi-

rus’sshifting demographic im-

pactismostacute.

In Florida, CaliforniaandAri-

zona, Hispanics consistently

madeup adisproportionate share

of covid-19 deaths in June and

earlyJuly.The disparitymay be

persisting,butCDCdatalagsstate

statistics,andthe agency’smost

recentnumberswere notcom-

plete enoughtoinclude inthe

analysis.(Thefederal data about

ageand genderamongcovid- 19

deaths werenot broken downat

the statelevel overtime,so those

demographicfactors werenot in-

cludedin the analysis.)

In California, Hispanics ac-

countfor 39 percent ofthe state

population,but 46 percentof all

virusdeaths and57 percentof

virusdeaths reported in the last

weekof June. In Texas,where

Hispanics are 40 percentof the

population,theyaccountfor an

approximately proportional

shareof all virusdeaths.In the

last weekof June, however,they

madeup 57 percent of the deaths.

Poor data reporting,whichini-

tiallymasked the disease’s dispro-

portionate burdenon Blackcom-

munities,has continued to hinder

researchers tryingto study conse-

quencesfor Hispanics.Arecent

report, however,linkslong-stand-

ing inequalitytothe surges in

Hispanicinfectionsand deaths.

Crowdedhousing,exposureto

air pollutionand jobs in the meat-

packing industry, which Presi-

dentTrumpdeclaredwere“essen-

tial,”put Hispanicsat aparticu-

larly highrisk for coronavirus

infection and death, said CarlosE.

Rodriguez-Diaz, aGeorgeWash-

ington Universityprofessorwho

is the leadauthor of arecent

paperpublishedby the journal

Annalsof Epidemiology.

Rodriguez-Diazand his team

foundthat, in mostparts of the

country, countieswheremoreLa-

tinoslive sawmore cases and

deaths —especiallyin the Mid-

west, hometo mostofthe nation’s

meat-processingplants, manyof

whichhire largenumbersof Lati-

no migrants.

Theresearchers calledfor Med-

icaidexpansionto addressdispa-

rateaccessto healthcareand for

better outreach,testing and infec-

tious-diseasesurveillancetoserve

the diverseexperiences of the

country’sLatino communities.

In Arizona’sMaricopaCounty,

wherealmostathirdof residents

are Hispanic,the virushas killed

SEE150,000ONA

ALYSSA FOWERS/THEWASHINGTON POST

Covid-19’stoll felt acrossthe countryasdeaths reach 150,

Deathsper weekfrom Feb. 29 to July 25

Source: Post analysisbasedondeathsreported by statesand counties

March April MayJune July

Only 14% of July’sdeaths occurred

inNew England,NewYork and

NewJerseyor theMid-Atlantic

NewJerseyretroactively

added1,800probable deaths

At first,deathsclustered in

NewYorkandNewJersey,

whichaccounted for more

than halfofthe 15,

deathsreported in the

secondweekof April

Stringent lockdownsearlier

in the yearhelpedbring

downdeaths inNew

England,New York and

NewJerseyin late spring

DeathsinMichigansank

in Maybut remained high

inIllinoisinto June

Deaths increased

fourfoldinTexasin

July,while doublingin

FloridaandArizona

New

England

Midwest

New York and

New Jersey

OtherMid-Atlantic

West

Southwest

Southeast

California’sdeathtollhas remained

relatively consistent sinceApril,

drivingmostdeaths in theWest

Florida,GeorgiaandLouisiana

accountedfor most deaths in the

Southeastduringthe earlymonthsof

the pandemic

Outbreak’s weight falls on

Hispanics and Native Americans

as deaths pass 150,

BRYANR. SMITH/AGENCEFRANCE-PRESSE/GETTYIMAGES

Thecaskets holding thebodiesofLolaM.Simmons-Jonesand herdaughterLashayeAntoinetteAllen, whobothdiedof covid-19,

areplacednext oneanotherbefore burial at LincolnMemorialCemeteryinDallasonThursday.

THE WASHINGTON POST

Covid-19continuesto cause 1out of every5deathsamongHispanicsand Native

Americans even as rates decreaseamongothergroups

Total deathsper 100,000 peopleper week

Hispanic

Apr MayJun Jul

0

10

20

30

Black

Apr MayJun Jul

0

10

20

30

White

Apr MayJun Jul

Native American

Apr MayJun Jul

Asian

Apr MayJun Jul

Other

Apr MayJun Jul

5% 10 15 20 25+

Covid-19deaths as apercent of total deaths

Source: Centersfor DiseaseControland Prevention;NationalCenterfor HealthStatistics

Note:Data from March8toJuly 4, as of July 29

thecoronaviruspandemic