Out of proportion!Novel coronavirus is twice as lethal to African americans as it is to white people

As the epidemic continues to spread, many facts show that the deep-rooted injustice in American society has not been “balanced” and that vulnerable groups, such as minorities and the poor, are in a more dangerous and difficult situation than ever before.

Therefore, the novel coronavirus is not so much an equalizer as an amplifier of social injustice in the United States.

Some media even exclaimed that the covid-19 has killed twice as many African americans as white people. Three deep reasons reveal the harsh reality.

African americans are disproportionately ill

According to a CDC sample of 99 counties in 14 states, 45 percent of covid-19 hospitalizations were white, well below the 55 percent of whites in the community.In contrast, 33 per cent of hospital admissions for covid-19 were African americans, who made up only 18 per cent of the community.

A worker in protective clothing controls the number of customers at a supermarket in queens, New York, on May 18, 2008.Xinhua news agency/AFP

In New York, the epicenter of the outbreak, “novel coronavirus is twice as lethal to african-americans and latinos as it is to whites,” according to data released by the city government.

In New York, african-americans and latinos make up 22 percent and 29 percent of the city’s population, respectively, but account for 28 percent and 34 percent of covid-19 deaths.

A report in the New York times said the “imbalance” in New York was typical of the country as a whole, and that it was even worse elsewhere.

According to the city of Chicago, for example, more than half of confirmed cases and 72 percent of covid-19 related deaths occur in the city, even though blacks account for less than a third of the city’s population.

The Chicago sun-times commented in an editorial that health and medical conditions in the United States have never been equal, including in Chicago, and that rates of dangerous illness in the black community have remained high.In Chicago, where the difference in life expectancy between blacks and whites is already as high as nine years, covid-19 has once again made that inequality more pronounced.

The plight of America’s poor is no less dire.

Emergency rooms in low – and middle-income neighborhoods in New York City have seen a surge in flu-like symptoms.Of the 20 neighborhoods with the lowest positive test rates in the city, 19 were in affluent neighborhoods.

The large homeless population in the United States is also one of the most at risk.An earlier report in the journal nature said the epidemic had spread “silently” among this group for several months because of a lack of attention.

Because of the lack of testing and the high concentration of the population, the outbreak was “out of control” among the homeless when health workers began testing them, the report said.

African americans suffer from multiple injustices

Why are minorities, such as african-americans, more likely to develop covid-19 and more likely to develop into severe illness or death?According to the public opinion, this is closely related to their long-term weak position.

First, many ethnic minorities have basic jobs that require them to be on the job during the outbreak, and are therefore more likely to be exposed to dangerous conditions.

According to the city government, 75 percent of the city’s “front-line” workers are ethnic minorities, such as supermarket clerks, bus and subway drivers and cleaners.Many employers also do not offer paid sick leave, and low-income workers continue to work despite the outbreak.

Second, entrenched prejudice has long denied African americans equal access to health care.As New York mayor bill DE blasio said, the tragedy of covid-19 is a testament to decades of inequality in health.The New York times also reported that when patients of different RACES showed similar symptoms, doctors paid more attention to white patients.

Third, chronic diseases afflict many ethnic minorities because of chronic lack of access to good medical care.African-americans have higher rates of hypertension, heart disease and diabetes than whites, and these patients are especially at risk from novel coronavirus infections.One of the reasons for the high prevalence of chronic diseases among African americans is the psychological burden of living in polluted environment and being discriminated against.

New York governor cuomo also pointed out that novel coronavirus took advantage of inadequate medical treatment for low-income people with chronic diseases.

In addition, factors such as the high density of people living in communities far from supermarkets and medical facilities also make African americans extremely vulnerable when the epidemic strikes.

It’s worth noting that the U.S. meat processing industry, which employs a large number of African and Hispanic immigrants, had thousands of workers diagnosed in April, but because meatpacking is considered a “necessary industry” by the U.S. government, it still requires workers to work in high-risk environments.

Critics say U.S. law enforcement agencies have repeatedly “raided” food processing plants and deported “illegal immigrants” since trump took office, only to ask them to return to work during the outbreak regardless of their safety.The U.S. government has shown “unprecedented brutality and contempt” for immigrants and minorities.

Extended reading:

African americans die at twice the rate of whites!America is far more unequal than you might think

According to CNN, African americans account for 72% of covid-19 deaths in Chicago, though they make up only 30% of the city’s population.A similar pattern emerged in Louisiana, Illinois, New Jersey and Michigan.This means that the death rate among infected African americans is several times higher than among whites.

For a more graphic example, more than 80 percent of the 17 covid-19 deaths reported in st. Louis, Missouri, were among African americans.Of those infected, 55% were black;But when it comes to demographics, African americans make up just 24.9 percent of the population.

Why are African americans disproportionately attacked when everyone should be equal before the virus?There are many factors.In general, African americans are poorer, have higher rates of chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, live in more densely populated areas, work with larger Numbers of people, travel more on public transportation, and are at greater risk of infection.Once “hit the jackpot”, he had to accept the bleak “life” of “rich first, poor in line”, and missed the best opportunity for treatment in the long wait.

Cold data provide a stark picture of inequality in American society.Just as the proportion of African americans affected by the virus is shocking, so is the huge inequality in American society.While the median household income reached a new high, the income gap widened to its highest level in the past 50 years, the data showed.According to statistics, there are about 40 million people living in poverty in the United States, 18.5 million of whom are in “extreme poverty”.The minimum wage in the United States also lags far behind most European countries, although many states have raised it in recent years.

Some people describe the situation for African americans like this: when the first pay check is left out, the second pay check is in trouble, and the third pay check is in trouble, and they need to feed their families, you understand what it is that kills them.The combination of extreme poverty and inequality has led to human rights abuses against vulnerable groups in American society.The United Nations poverty and human rights monitor has accused U.S. leaders of trying to turn the country into a “world champion of extreme inequality.”

The gap between the rich and the poor and racial discrimination are the “stubborn historical diseases” in the United States, and the resulting inequality is manifested in education, work, health care and other aspects.This outbreak has exposed and exacerbated inequality.As the economy stagnated in the wake of the outbreak, the us lost 713,000 jobs in the private sector last month, with the leisure and hospitality sectors accounting for 64 per cent of the losses.In just three weeks, nearly 17 million people filed for unemployment benefits, and more are being filed.The guardian noted that while the United States is not the only country facing mass unemployment, American workers are relatively vulnerable because they lack the welfare safety nets of France or Germany, or the public health systems of Britain and Canada.

A federal reserve survey in 2019 found that 40 percent of workers nationwide could not afford $400 in an emergency, putting their resilience at risk.These are the first to be hit or even destroyed by the poor groups, in turn will become a social instability factors.

The researchers studied a state in the United States and found that the more unequal the distribution of income, the higher the unemployment rate and the higher the crime rate.However, even if serious inequality leads to many overlapping social problems, there is no sign that the authorities are making much progress. On the contrary, many current policies are still playing a role of solidifying.

Yale university professor Jacob hanke once pointed out that the current socioeconomic inequality in the United States is the result of favoring the privileged in the political decision-making process.Organizations representing the interests of the wealthy influence government policy making, and existing systems allow the powerful to take all the winners and perpetuate their privileges through favorable policies.To some extent, the inequality in American society has been institutionalized. The so-called equality of all people is just an illusory American dream. Those who have been in trouble for a long time try to live, only to meet the vicious circle of inequality.