Chicago Tackles COVID-19 Disparities In Hard Hit Black And Latino Neighborhoods
Chicago's mayor calls the coronavirus a public health "red alarm." She has deployed a Racial Equity Rapid Response Team to fight the disease in black and latinx neighborhoods.
When COVID-19 first hit the United States, it spread through communities of color at alarmingly disproportionate rates.
This was especially true in Chicago. More than 70% of the city's first coronavirus deaths were African-American. Those numbers have declined, but black residents continue to die at a rate two- to three-times higher than the city's white residents. Researchers believe underlying health conditions that are prevalent in Latinx and black communities, such as hypertension and diabetes, make residents there more vulnerable to the disease.
