COVID-19 Outcomes Among the Hispanic Population of 27 Large U.S. Cities, 2020–2021
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Report Publish Date: June 21, 2022
This journal article describes a study examining disparities in COVID-19 infections, hospitalization, deaths, and vaccination between Hispanics and Whites in 27 large U.S. cities.
Primary Takeaways
Where COVID data was available, the authors found that Hispanics had infection rates 2.2 to 6.7 times higher than Whites. Hospitalization rates for Hispanic people were 1.5 to 8.6 times higher than Whites’. In all but one city, Hispanics had lower vaccination rates than Whites. Using the CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index, the authors found that cities that are less vulnerable to disease outbreaks had larger COVID-19 disparities between Whites and Hispanics.
Overview and Objectives
At the time of this study, most research on COVID-19 inequities had looked at disparities at the county or state level or within ZIP codes. The authors wanted to compare disparities within large cities, where most Hispanic people live. They also wanted to compare disparities in different years of the pandemic and across cities with different levels of social vulnerability.
Hypothesis or Approach
The authors used 2020 and 2021 data from the Big Cities Health Coalition COVID-19 Inequities in Cities Dashboard, as well as population demographic data from the 2015 to 2019 American Community Survey.
Not all cities reported all four of the outcomes the researchers were studying: COVID incidence (20 cities), hospitalization (19 cities), and mortality (20 cities) rates and vaccine coverage (13 cities).
How This Influences Change
This study adds to the literature on racial and ethnic disparities during the COVID-19 pandemic. It could help researchers, policymakers, and public health officials recognize the need to take steps to reduce disease disparity in the future.
Research: Go Deeper
Objectives: To examine racial/ethnic disparities in COVID-19 outcomes between Hispanics and Whites across 27 U.S. jurisdictions whose health departments are members of the Big Cities Health Coalition (BCHC).
Methods: Using surveillance data from the BCHC COVID-19 dashboard as of mid-June 2021, we computed crude incidence, age-adjusted hospitalization and mortality, and full vaccination coverage rates for Hispanics and Whites by city. We estimated relative and absolute disparities cumulatively and for 2020 and 2021 and explored associations between city-level social vulnerability and the magnitude of disparities.
Results: In most of the cities with available COVID-19 incidence data, rates among Hispanics were 2.2 to 6.7 times higher than those among Whites. In all cities, Hispanics had higher age-adjusted hospitalization (1.5–8.6 times as high) and mortality (1.4–6.2 times as high) rates. Hispanics had lower vaccination coverage in all but 1 city. Disparities in incidence and hospitalizations narrowed in 2021, whereas disparities in mortality remained similar. Disparities in incidence, hospitalization, mortality, and vaccination rates were wider in cities with lower social vulnerability.
Conclusions: A deeper exploration of racial/ethnic disparities in COVID-19 outcomes is essential to understand and prevent disparities among marginalized communities.
Am J Public Health. July 2022. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.306809
Research Team
This study and report was conducted and created by the following people.
- De Ramos IP
- Lazo M
- Schnake-Mahl A
- Li R
- Martinez-Donate AP
- Diez Roux AV
- Bilal U
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