Racial Health Disparities and Covid-19 — Caution and Context

Abstract

In early April, Wisconsin and Michigan released data showing stark racial disparities in rates of Covid-19 cases and deaths. In those states, many media outlets noted that the percentages of affected people who were black were more than twice as high as the proportion of blacks in the overall population. Similar disparities have since been reported elsewhere, sometimes along with overrepresentation of additional racial minority groups.