The pandemic's unequal toll on communities of color

A virus doesn’t discriminate, so why is it that communities of color have been more vulnerable to COVID-19? Hosts Rose Scott of WABE in Atlanta and John Dankosky of New England Public Radio examine how the coronavirus presents stark racial disparities. According to APM Research Lab, “black Americans represent 13% of the population in all U.S. areas releasing COVID mortality data, but they have suffered 25% of deaths.” Latino and Asian Americans have died at rates roughly equivalent to their population. By comparison, though white Americans represent 61.7% of the combined population, they have experienced 49.3% of deaths. Why is this happening? What is being done to help? And how can we move forward in a way that addresses their needs? In addition to callers from across the nation, our guests include: Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, president and dean of the Morehouse School of Medicine; Dr. Orlando Torres of Baystate Health-High Street Health Center in Springfield, Massachusetts; and Vanesa Sarazua, executive director of the Gainesville-based Hispanic Alliance of Georgia, which has worked to combat the pandemic by connecting quarantined poultry plant employees with food assistance.

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