More Latinos have died from covid-19 in California than other groups 3:06
(CNN) -
Latinos in the United States were heavily affected by the covid-19 pandemic on several fronts.
They experienced higher rates of virus deaths and hospitalizations.
They had more trouble making ends meet than other demographics, due to pay cuts and job losses.
They faced barriers to accessing vaccines.
Still, Latin Americans are more satisfied with the nation's direction than in a decade, according to new data from the Pew Research Center.
The report, which was released Thursday and is based on a survey of more than 3,300 Hispanic adults in March of this year, illustrates how Latin Americans feel about their situation in the United States, as well as the way forward.
“We had the feeling that Latinos had suffered in different ways due to the pandemic,” said Jens Manuel Krogstad, senior writer and editor at the Pew Research Center and one of the authors of the report.
"But we also found that Latinos were quite optimistic about their own personal future and the future of the country, despite having faced these challenges."
About half of Latino adults in the United States said they were satisfied with the direction the country is taking, according to the report, the most since 2012. Latinos were also more hopeful than the general US population. a third of American adults reported feeling the same way.
Obstacles to vaccinating Latinos in the US 17:17
Recovery prospects
It is a significant change even before the pandemic.
In December 2019, nearly two-thirds of Latinos said they were dissatisfied with the way things were going in the United States, according to the survey.
Meanwhile, the number of Latino Republicans who were satisfied with the direction of the country experienced a 24-point decline from December 2019.
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In general, Latinos also have a positive outlook on the nation's recovery.
More than half of Latino adults felt they would be better off financially next year.
The fact that members of their households lost their jobs or faced pay cuts made only a small difference in how they felt, the authors wrote.
And nearly two-thirds said the worst of the pandemic was over.
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Changes after the elections
The mood has changed since the elections.
The latest findings reflect a trend seen by the Pew Research Center since the 2020 presidential election, after which Latinos reported feeling less angry and more hopeful about the state of the country.
In addition to a new administration that is less hostile towards people of color and immigrants, Krogstad said that the availability of Covid-19 vaccines and the reopening of the economy could also be contributing to the positive mood swing in Latin Americans.
Hispanics are among the least vaccinated groups in the US, according to survey
Matthew Snider, a senior health policy analyst at the research and advocacy organization UnidosUS, added that some of the same factors that made Latinos so vulnerable during the pandemic may also explain the optimism they feel now.
"As companies reopen and we get back to normal, people who maybe had been working every day at the front, seeing how difficult it was, maybe they can appreciate it a little better than other people," Snider said.
The cost of the pandemic
Still, the pandemic took a huge price
Although Latinos feel better about the future of the country than they have in years, the toll the pandemic took on their communities is undeniable.
In their latest study, the Pew researchers also explored the personal and financial effects of the COVID-19 crisis on the Latino population in the United States a year later.
About half of Latino adults reported that someone close to them had been hospitalized or died from the virus.
And nearly half said someone in their household had lost a job or experienced a pay cut, according to the survey.
The numbers were even higher for those without a green card (known as a green card).
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“Many Latinos have jobs that require them to work outside the home and jobs that require frequent contact with people,” Krogstad said.
“In our survey, 45% of Latino adults had jobs that required them to work outside the home since the pandemic began.
That can have a variety of possible health and safety implications. "
As the United States seeks to address systemic inequalities in healthcare, employment and other sectors, Snider said it is important to understand the true impact the pandemic had on various demographic groups.
“Looking at how severely certain communities were affected has to always be central to that conversation going forward,” Snider said.
"I think this data and this survey will help us provide us with some of that information needed for that job."
Covid-19 surveys