As COVID declines, Latinos in Los Angeles see disproportionate devastation

The COVID-19 death rate among Latino residents in LA County remains triple the rate for white residents even as the winter wave wears off.

The average COVID-19 death rate among Latinos in LA County peaked in mid-January at a daily rate of 48 deaths per 100,000 Latino residents, three times worse than the rate for white residents, which was 16 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, according to data released last week.

Black residents in mid-January were dying from COVID-19 at a rate of 23 deaths per 100,000 population; among Asian Americans, the rate was 20 per 100,000.

“When we look at death rates by race and ethnicity … once again, our Latinx community is enduring the worst of the pandemic,” Barbara Ferrer, LA County Director of Public Health, said during a press briefing announcing the county data.

At the end of January, average daily death rates for all races and ethnicities fell – but fell more slowly for Latino and black residents.

For the 14-day period that ended Jan. 30, the average daily COVID-19 death rate for Latinos in LA County was 33 per 100,000 population; that’s triple the number of White and Asian American residents, who were dying at a rate of 11 per 100,000 population. Black residents were dying from COVID-19 at a rate of 14 per 100,000 population.

“White and Asian residents have experienced a larger decline than black and Latinx residents,” Ferrer said. “While cases may be on the decline, that doesn’t mean issues of racism, lack of resources and the higher risk of adverse outcomes are gone. In fact, these factors always appear to contribute to the disproportionalities that we continue to note in all of our reports. ”

The COVID-19 death rate among residents of the poorest areas of LA County in mid-January, the peak of the pandemic, was four times worse than for residents of the county’s wealthiest areas, according to the reports. data released last week.

The average daily COVID-19 death rate at that time among people living in the poorest areas of LA County peaked at nearly 60 deaths per day per 100,000 population, while the rate in the poorest areas. richer was around 17 deaths per day per 100,000 population.

At the end of January, the disparity still existed: Those who lived in the poorest areas of LA County were dying from COVID-19 at a daily rate of about 35 per 100,000 population, nearly triple the rate of residents of wealthier areas, where the COVID-19 death rate was around 12 per day per 100,000 population.

“Since the start of the pandemic, COVID-19 has been devastating for people living in low-resource areas where there are a greater number of people living in poverty,” Ferrer said.

Low-income areas are highly susceptible to the spread of the coronavirus due to the density of housing, overcrowded living conditions and a higher proportion of essential workers who cannot work from home. Officials believe people get sick at work and then pass the virus on to family members at home.

According to an analysis by UC San Francisco researchers, Latino and black residents of California and people with an education up to a high school diploma have suffered among the largest increases in deaths during the pandemic.

California counties with a greater share of low-wage, overcrowded households have been hit hardest by the pandemic, according to a to study by the UC Merced Community and Labor Center. And Latino workers have the highest employment rate in essential frontline jobs, where the risk of exposure to the coronavirus is highest, according to the UC Berkeley Labor Center.

For example, 55% of Latinos work in such jobs and 48% of black residents, compared to 35% of white residents.