In rural areas, COVID hits Black, Hispanic communities hardest, although gap appears to be narrowing

At the peak of the Omicron wave, Covid killed Black Americans in rural areas at a rate roughly 34% higher than it did white people, new research has found, although the gap appears to be narrowing in recent months (Source: “In Rural America, Covid Hits Black and Hispanic People Hardest,” New York Times, July 28).

Across the small towns and farmlands, new research has found, Covid killed Black and Hispanic people at considerably higher rates than it did their white neighbors. Even at the end of the pandemic’s second year, in February 2022, overstretched health systems, poverty, chronic illnesses and lower vaccination rates were forcing nonwhite people to bear the burden of the virus.

In towns and cities of every size, racial gaps in Covid deaths have narrowed. That has been especially true recently, when major gains in populationwide immunity have tempered the kind of pressure on health systems that appears to hurt nonwhite Americans the most.