CDC Report: COVID-19 3.5 Times As Prevalent Among Native Americans, Skews Younger
Download mp3 (1.09 MB)COVID-19 disproportionately harms American Indians and Alaska Natives, but a lack of data has made gauging the extent of that disparity difficult.
A new study led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention attempts to address that.
The report, which looked at 23 states with suitable race and ethnicity data, found COVID-19 occurred 3.5 times as often among American Indians and Alaska Natives as among non-Hispanic whites.
Experts cited causes ranging from persistent racial inequities to socioeconomic factors.
Coronavirus cases also skewed younger among Native Americans compared with whites, affecting three times as many people under 18 and less than half as many over 65.
At least one-third of COVID-19 cases among Native Americans occur in Arizona.
