COVID-19 Kills Black Americans at Disproportionate Rate Due to Structural Inequities

CDC data showed Black Americans were dying from COVID-19 at approximately 2.4 times the rate of white Americans through 2020–2021. Structural factors included higher rates of essential worker employment with no remote-work option (food service, transit, health aides, meatpacking), lower rates of health insurance, higher prevalence of underlying conditions rooted in poverty and environmental racism, residential crowding, and reduced access to quality healthcare. Early vaccine rollouts in some states prioritized age, disadvantaging younger Black essential workers. Black Americans constituted roughly 13% of the U.S. population but 23% of early COVID deaths.