Racial and Ethnic Differences Persist in COVID-19, According to Survey

Sponsored by Gilead Sciences

Racial and ethnic disparities in health care have long been a problem in the U.S.¹ For many Black communities and other minority groups, a lack of health insurance, less access to quality medical care, and socioeconomic factors have contributed to higher rates of chronic illness and worse health outcomes compared to White people.^1-3

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed these long-standing health disparities. Black communities experienced comparatively higher infection rates and more severe illness and hospitalizations from COVID-19.^4-7 Black Americans aged 65 and older had a disproportionately higher percentage of COVID-19 deaths than their White counterparts in 2023 based on CDC population distribution data.⁸

A Harris Poll survey revealed that Black people continue to take on a disproportionate health burden from COVID-19.⁹ The survey, conducted in the U.S. from March 12 to April 1, 2024, assessed Black Americans’ views and experiences with COVID-19 or long COVID (N=1000) compared with those of Hispanic (N=1000) and non-Hispanic White adults (N=1000) aged 18 years and older.^9*

COVID-19 infections will likely rise again in fall and winter.¹⁰ Take action to protect yourself and your families from the virus:

Know your risk for getting very sick, and potentially hospitalized, from COVID-19 and consider testing if you are showing symptoms.

Stay vigilant – if your symptoms worsen, seek medical care right away.

Community leaders, including government health officials, can provide essential resources and information to help you protect against severe illness during the next COVID-19 wave.

Key takeaways from the survey

In the survey Black people were more likely to experience certain symptoms and require special treatment for COVID-19 and long COVID⁹

More Black and Hispanic people reported persistent pain or pressure in the chest as their initial COVID-19 or long Covid symptoms, while more White people reported fatigue, congestion, or runny nose.⁹
34% of diagnosed Black respondents reported having received special medications or treatments for COVID-19, such as antivirals (treatments given as a pill or intravenously that stop the virus that causes COVID-19 from replicating in the body) compared with 23% of diagnosed White people.⁹
Additionally, 11% of diagnosed Black people reported needing oxygen support less than 24 hours after diagnosis, compared to 2% of diagnosed White people.⁹

Black people were more likely to experience bias and had a more pessimistic view of COVID-19⁹

29% of Black people and 25% of Hispanic people reported that some medical staff discriminated against them due to their race or ethnicity, compared with 5% of White people.⁹
Similarly, 30% of Black people and 28% of Hispanic people reported receiving different care due to their race or ethnicity, compared to 4% of White people.⁹
Asked for their views about the future of COVID-19, 37% of Black people and 25% of Hispanic people were more inclined to say they believed the worst is yet to come, compared with 11% of White people.⁹

Long COVID remains a serious public health problem⁹

Long COVID (new or recurring symptoms that can last for weeks, months, or years after a COVID-19 infection) has affected millions of Americans since the beginning of the pandemic.^11-12 The survey highlighted the disparate impact of long COVID among racial and ethnic minorities:⁹

People with long COVID were more likely to report being dissatisfied with care than those with COVID-19 without long COVID.⁹
People with long COVID were reported to be dissatisfied with care because symptoms were not fully addressed, felt rushed (making it difficult to discuss concerns), and concerns or questions were often dismissed or not addressed.⁹

“The survey sheds light on the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 and long COVID on minority groups and highlights the immense toll the pandemic has taken – and continues to take – on Black communities,” said Dr. Anu Osinusi, Vice President, Clinical Research for Hepatitis, Respiratory and Emerging Viruses at Gilead. “The findings underscore the pressing need for action to bridge the gaps in COVID-19 care for those who face steep health disparities and have a higher risk for severe outcomes.”

For helpful resources about COVID-19 and long COVID, please visit https://www.cdc.gov/covid/index.html.

Some people who get very sick from COVID-19 may need hospital care. For some, severe COVID-19 can even lead to death. Below is a list of risk factors that may make it more likely to get very ill from COVID-19:

Older age	The risk for severe illness from COVID-19 increases with age, especially for those aged 65 and older.¹³
Immunocompromised immune system	Older age, some medical conditions, and medications such as chemotherapy or corticosteroids can lower the body’s defenses and make it more likely to become severely ill with COVID-19.^13-14
Chronic health conditions	Chronic lung or cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and kidney or liver disease can increase the risk of serious COVID-19 illness.^13-14

Treatments are available that can help reduce your risk of hospitalization and/or death from COVID-19. Some treatments must be started soon after symptoms first appear to be effective.¹⁵

*The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within ±2.3 percentage points for the diagnosed groups and ±4.96 percentage points for the hospitalized groups using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest. All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to other multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including, but not limited to coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments.

References

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“Advancing Better Health through Better Understanding for Black and African American Communities: Health Literacy, Health Care Access, and Culturally Appropriate Care 2024 Reading List.” HHS.Gov, 31 Jan. 2024, www.hhs.gov/black-history-month/reading-list/index.html.
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Amber Mirajkar, Adam Oswald, Mark Rivera, Gideon Logan, Tracy Macintosh, Ayanna Walker, David Lebowitz, Latha Ganti, Racial Disparities in Patients Hospitalized for COVID-19, Journal of the National Medical Association (2023), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnma.2023.06.006
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Duong, Khanh N C et al. “Disparities in COVID-19 related outcomes in the United States by race and ethnicity pre-vaccination era: an umbrella review of meta-analyses.” Frontiers in public health vol. 11 1206988. 7 Sep. 2023, doi:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1206988
“Covid-19 Provisional Counts – Health Disparities.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 27 Sept. 2023, www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/health_disparities.htm.
Oppelt, Thomas F et al. “P-1938. Impact of Race and Ethnicity on Patient-reported Health and Symptoms Following COVID-19 or Long COVID Diagnosis.” Open Forum Infectious Diseases vol. 12,Suppl 1 ofae631.2097. 29 Jan. 2025, doi:10.1093/ofid/ofae631.2097
“Covid-19 Can Surge throughout the Year.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3 July 2024, www.cdc.gov/ncird/whats-new/covid-19-can-surge-throughout-the-year.html#:~:text=COVID%2D19%20seasonality&text=Data%20from%20four%20years%20of,July%20and%20August%20of%202023).
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