Why Is the Pandemic Killing So Many Black Americans?

May 20, 2020

Some have called the pandemic “the great equalizer.”  But the coronavirus is killing black Americans at staggeringly higher rates than white Americans. Today, we explore why. Guest: Linda Villarosa, a writer for The New York Times Magazine covering racial health disparities, who spoke to Nicole Charles in New Orleans, La. about the death of her husband, Cornell Charles, known as Dickey. He was 51. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily 

Background reading: 

• How Mardi Gras accelerated the spread of the coronavirus among an already vulnerable population in New Orleans.
• The coronavirus has killed black and Latino people in New York City at twice the rate that it has killed white people. Black Britons are also twice as likely to die from coronavirus.
• Black Americans can face subconscious bias from medical professionals when they seek care. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have advised health professionals to be on the lookout for such bias, but some say the issue is far more systemic.

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