Today I will be showcasing the inequalities in Covid-19 cases and deaths between different demographics. The African-American and Latino communities have been disproportionately affected by Covid-19 compared to other groups. The reason this issue is a systematic injustice is because of the many different infrastructure problems that are lingering factors causing this phenomenon to occur.
The first issue is lack of access to adequate healthcare. This is an issue that has been affecting all Americans for a long time but it is a much bigger issue with minorities such as African-Americans and Latinos. Reasons for lack of healthcare can be traced to different reasons such as families having lower levels of employment and financial standing. These issues are generational as well as a product of their environment. Another issue is the lower levels of education and access to resources to allow them to get the treatments they need. They are more susceptible to misinformation being spread on Covid-19 and overall lack of access to the facts on the issue.
One of the most important reasons on why the disparities in cases occur between minorities and other Americans is due to lack of trust of government institutions. The African-American and Latino communities have been a target of discrimination and inequality for much of their history in the United States. This is another generational issue that has been effecting the communities for a long time. This long-term lack of trust of government institutions is leading to uneven Covid-19 rates because they might not trust the treatments or vaccines that are being distributed by said institutions.
Here are two graphs, one illustrates the disproportionate amount of cases between African-Americans, Latinos, and Caucasians and the other graph shows with amount of cases between various groups:
All of these different issues are all connected and lead into one another. Despite the systemic nature of these issues, they can be fixed with continuous focus on them as well as providing more resources and educational tools to alleviate some of the damage that has already been done. Overall, these issues can be fixed even though they are embedded in the infrastructure of this country but they will take time to change and will need the effort of all Americans.
Works Cited:
Fox, Nick. “COVID-19’s Disproportionate Impact Across Racial Lines.” LHSFNA, Laborers Health & Safety Fund of North America, July 2020, www.lhsfna.org/index.cfm/lifelines/july-2020/covid-19-s-disproportionate-impact-across-racial-lines/.
McCarthy, Niall, and Felix Richter. “Infographic: The Pandemic’s Racial Disparity.” Statista Infographics, 30 July 2020, www.statista.com/chart/22430/coronavirus-deaths-by-race-in-the-us/.
Hi!
Thank you for sharing all the information you found on COVID 19 cases and deaths across different racial populations. I find it very interesting that the differences in COVID deaths between populations is very significant. It is clear that populations of lower income groups have higher death rate / covid cases. I think this is evidence enough that we need to get health care more available to all Americans. Minorities cannot be left out as they can have the most difficulty with COVID and fighting it off because they cannot pay for the medical expenses. Thank you for opening my eyes to see this!
Hey, I really enjoyed your Diary of Systemic Injustice showcase! I knew that there was a disparity in the deaths from Covid-19, but the graphs that you showed that the disparity is much worse than I had thought. Government institutions must be improved in order to prevent disparities in deaths from viruses like Covid-19 and help minorities pay for medical bills.
Nice work! I really enjoy your Diary of system injustice showcase! There are lots of injustices that happened during the COVID-19 period. In the chart you gave us, I can not believe the difference is so huge. I am thinking that why those black people can not get better therapy and is this just because they can not afford the bill? The COVID-19 took a lot of lives and I hope everyone can get fair treatments during this tough time.