The perfect storm of black health disparities and COVID-19 in one graph

Last week the CDC released a data snapshot of the demographics of COVID-19 hospitalizations in America. The data showed concerning numbers regarding the disproportionate COVID-19 hospitalizations and sever-illness cases among black people.

In the release, black people accounted for about 33 percent of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the U.S., although we make up about 13 percent of the U.S. population. Public health officials are attributing these numbers in part to health disparities of the black community, which leads to the fact that black people suffer from many of the conditions that place people at risk of severe illness from COVID-19. The underlying medical conditions include chronic lung disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and people with liver disease. Below is a chart of some of these conditions in the black community compared to the general population.

This crisis has magnified the health disparities of black people in America. The CDC data was only an early snapshot, but I’m willing to bet this trend will continue as we move through this crisis.