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Hispanics are twice as likely to test positive for COVID-19, study reveals

2020-09-24T18:33:30.097Z


A recent study revealed that black and Hispanic populations are twice as likely to test positive for COVID-19, and here's why.


As the coronavirus pandemic progresses, new findings emerge regarding it, and now a new study revealed that Black and Hispanic people are twice as likely to test positive for COVID-19 as white people.

For the research

, Christopher Rentsch

, assistant professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and his colleagues examined the relationship between race and COVID-19 testing, adjusting for multiple factors, including other health conditions and behaviors, history of medications, place of care and type of residence.

The result?

Blacks were more likely to be tested than Hispanics and whites.

This population was evaluated at a rate of 60 per 1,000 people, compared to one in 52.7 per 1,000 among Hispanics and one in 38.6 per 1,000 among whites.

Watch the related video:

COVID-19, asthma and polluted air, a dangerous combo for Hispanics! 

According to the study published in the journal PLOS Medicine, among those who were tested for COVID-19, 10.2% of black people and 11.4% of Hispanics tested positive.

This compared to only 4.4% of white people.

However, although black and Hispanic people were more likely to test positive for SARS-CoV-2, the team found no differences in 30-day mortality between different ethnic groups.

In addition to this,

Felipe Lobelo

, epidemiologist and expert in population health, explained to Un Nuevo Día that the Hispanic community is at higher risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2, as well as of manifesting a serious infection, for various reasons.

The main one, according to Lobelo, is the type of work in which the majority of Hispanics do.

For example, a construction, a hospital, a restaurant, among others.

"Obviously this makes us more likely to contract the virus through personal contact, and that is why it is so important to follow prevention measures, such as using a mask," he said.

While the second is that Hispanics also have a high percentage of prevalence of chronic diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, among others.

Therefore, these both social and medical factors highlight the importance of further protecting ourselves against the virus.

Watch the related video:

Possible Reasons Hispanics Are at Higher Risk for COVID-19 Infection 

Experts also found that the disparity between blacks and whites who tested positive for the virus was greater in the Midwest than in the west of the country.

While the disparity between Hispanic and white people was prevalent in all regions.

For the analysis, the team of researchers used the electronic health records of 5,834,543 people who received care at the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the group, 91% were male, 74% were white, 19% were black, and 7% were Hispanic.

Of 254,595 people who were tested for COVID-19 between February and July, 16,317 tested positive and 1,057 died, the study notes.

While the results are alarming, the specialists cited the low number of women and the lack of detailed information on the social determinants of health as limitations of their research.

See also:

Mask or vaccine, what is the safest against contagion?

This the experts say

Pfizer vaccine could be administered in the US before the end of the year

COVID-19: FDA Announces Stronger Standards for Approving Vaccines, Expert Explains Them

Related Video: What Factors Harm Hispanic Health and How to Improve? 

Source: telemundo

All life articles on 2020-09-24

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