Skip to content
January 30, 2023
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Reddit
  • Telegram
  • TikTok
  • LinkedIn
  • Discord
Orinoco Tribune – News and opinion pieces about Venezuela and beyond

Orinoco Tribune – News and opinion pieces about Venezuela and beyond

From Venezuela and made by Venezuelan Chavistas

Primary Menu
  • News
  • Opinion
  • About us
    • About us
    • Who we are – Becoming a Volunteer
    • Editorial guidelines for contributors
    • Our Sources
      • Venezuelan Sources
      • International Sources
    • Contact us
  • Categories
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Security and Defense
    • International
      • Africa
      • Asia
      • Europe
      • Oceania
      • US/Canada
    • Latin America and ALBA-TCP
      • South America
      • Central America and the Caribbean (+Mexico)
    • Ideology-Commune-Labor
    • Health-Education-Sport-Culture-Technology
    • Solidarity and Social Movements
    • OT Specials
  • Support Us
Light/Dark Button
YouTube Channel
  • Home
  • News
  • In Chicago, 70% of COVID-19 Deaths Are Black
  • International
  • News

In Chicago, 70% of COVID-19 Deaths Are Black

April 6, 2020

By María Inés Zamudio and Elliott Ramos  –  April 5, 2020

 

The COVID-19 virus is killing black residents in Cook County at disproportionately high rates, according to early data analyzed by WBEZ.

While black residents make up only 23% of the population in the county, they account for 58% of the COVID-19 deaths. And half of the deceased lived in Chicago, according to data from the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.

8bde5782-6ee2-4456-8866-b740eeec6532
Patricia Frieson (seated on the right) celebrates her 60th birthday in 2018. Frieson, the first person to die from COVID-19 in Illinois, is remembered for her positive energy, singing, spirituality and strength.

As of Saturday, 107 of Cook County’s 183 deaths from COVID-19 were black. In Chicago, 61 of the 86 recorded deaths – or 70% – were black residents. Blacks make up 29% of Chicago’s population.

RELATED CONTENT: Ecuador’s Minister of Health Confirms More Than 1,500 Deaths in Guayaquil

The majority of the black COVID-19 patients who died had underlying health conditions including respiratory problems and diabetes. Eighty-one percent of them had hypertension, or high blood pressure, diabetes or both.

As the virus continues to spread, the high mortality rate for black residents is alarming.

“It’s disturbing and upsetting, but not surprising,” said Linda Rae Murray, health policy professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “This is just a reflection of the facts that we already know about these pandemics. People who are vulnerable will die quicker and won’t have as many resources.”

It’s still early in the pandemic and health officials are assessing information on which groups of people are being affected, Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, said Saturday. Ezike said she “would not be entirely surprised” if a disproportionate number of deaths were occuring in black communities.

“As we put on our health equity lens, we already know [that] before COVID was ever established that the health outcomes for various communities are already different,” she said. “So if you know those disparities exist in terms of health outcomes, you can imagine that overlaying a new disease is only going to exacerbate whatever inequities already exist.”

RELATED CONTENT: USA: When the Invisible Hand Gives You the Finger

Historically, Chicago’s black communities have been disproportionately affected by health-related issues including poverty, environmental pollution, segregation and limited access to medical care.

These conditions contribute to high rates of hypertension and diabetes. In Illinois, the rate of high blood pressure for black residents is around 48%.

Some of these historical factors are raising the risks for black residents in the coronavirus outbreak, said Murray, a former official in the Chicago Department of Health and previous chief medical officer for Cook County Public Health.

That was the case for 61-year-old Patricia Frieson, a black woman who was the first person to die in Illinois from the coronavirus. Frieson, a retired nurse, died on March 16 and a week later her sister Wanda Bailey, 63, died of COVID-19. They both had hypertension or diabetes.

It can be more difficult for black residents to practice social distancing because the population is more likely to use public transit and hold jobs that can’t be done from home. In poorer communities in the city, persons of color are also more likely to live in crowded homes, experts say.

“You just have a lot of people living in a house,” said Antonio Davis Jimenez, director of the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Community Outreach Intervention Projects.

Jimenez said that many “people that we serve in the neighborhoods that we target, they can have multiple people living in a household. And so it’s really difficult to stay inside and do this thing. In fact, there’s an incentive to want to go outside.”

Murray is particularly worried about the black population that’s incarcerated during this pandemic.

The number of black residents with COVID-19 statewide is also disproportionately high. Blacks account for 38 percent of the confirmed cases in Illinois but they are only 14% of the population. The state has not released a racial breakdown for deaths, although Illinois is one of the few states that keeps COVID-19 data with a racial breakdown.

According to ProPublica, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention typically tracks detailed data, including race, during outbreaks. But the federal agency did not respond to ProPublica’s request for data that includes a racial breakdown.

There’s been a push to get a racial breakdown of the cases at the national level, said Murray. It is important to get the data so that resources and culturally competent information can be distributed.

María Ines Zamudio is a reporter for WBEZ’s Race, Class and Communities desk. Follow her @mizamudio.

 

Featured image:  Deaths from Covid-19 in Chicago by neighborhood.

Source URL: WBEZ Chicago

 

Want More?

Don't want to be a victim of the Algorithm?

SIGN UP TO RECEIVE OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER WITH ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT VENEZUELA

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

orinocotribune
Website | + posts
  • orinocotribune
    https://orinocotribune.com/author/orinocotribune/
    January 30, 2023
    Human Rights Expert Aldref de Zayas Demands End to Sanctions Against Venezuela
  • orinocotribune
    https://orinocotribune.com/author/orinocotribune/
    Eyewitness footage shows what is said to be the moment of an explosion at a military facility in Isfahan. Photo: screenshot/WANA/Reuters.
    January 30, 2023
    Russia Condemns Failed Israeli Drone Attack Against Military Complex in Iran
  • orinocotribune
    https://orinocotribune.com/author/orinocotribune/
    Alex Saab supporter holding a sign with an image of the Venezuelan diplomat and a caption that reads: "Freedom for Alex Saab. #FreeAlexSaab." Photo: Venezuela News/File photo.
    January 30, 2023
    Over 30 Spanish Organizations Express Solidarity with Diplomat Alex Saab (+Statement)
  • orinocotribune
    https://orinocotribune.com/author/orinocotribune/
    Peruvian police shooting at protesters in one of hundreds of rallies held across Peru demanding the end of the dictatorship imposed by the Congress since December 7. Photo: Antonio Melgarejo/EFE.
    January 30, 2023
    Peru: Congress Rejects Early Elections Proposal Amidst Protests and More Deaths
Tags: Chicago coronavirus COVID-19 racial divide US Imperialism

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Continue Reading

Previous Previous post:

Catastrophe in Venezuela? Psychological Warfare and Fake News in Times of Pandemic

Next Next post:

“Chinese Virus” Rhetoric Shows Ineptness of US Politicians

Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter

We keep your data private and share your data only with third parties that make this service possible. Read our Privacy Policy.

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

NEWS: Most Viewed 72 Hours

Calendar

January 2023
M T W T F S S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031  
« Dec    

Categories

OPINION: Most Viewed 72 hours

We are on Telegram


Receive our news directly in your cellphone or PC, join us on our TELEGRAM channel: https://t.me/OrinocoTribune1

 

Download TELEGRAM, click the link above and then press the JOIN button.

We are on Discord


Now we are also on Discord you will be able to follow our every move and interact with our team.

Join us by clicking here



All our work is free to use and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.

We are on Reddit

If you are more into REDDIT, join our Orinoco Tribune Community.

 

Just click below and then click JOIN
https://www.reddit.com/r/OrinocoTribune/

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Reddit
  • Telegram
  • TikTok
  • LinkedIn
  • Discord
Copyleft, No rights reserved.
 

Loading Comments...
 

You must be logged in to post a comment.