CDC: Blacks comprise 33.7 percent of COVID-19 cases
Blacks comprise 33.7 percent of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported with little fanfare although black-elected officials had been pushing for release of national demographic data concerning coronavirus infections and deaths among African Americans.
The data comes with a big explanation. The numbers we hear and see on TV, read on the websites of the Johns Hopkins Center and the World Health Organization are markedly different from what the CDC has published.
The CDC, reported on Saturday, April 20, the number of COVID-19 cases by race, explaining the figures are updated daily. The numbers include data from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Numbers reported on Saturday and Sunday are preliminary and not yet confirmed by the state and territorial health departments, the CDC said.
The CDC does not know the exact number of COVID-19 illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths for a variety of reasons. COVID-19 can cause mild to severe illness and symptoms might not appear immediately. There are delays in reporting and testing and not everyone who is infected gets tested or seeks medical care. Further there may be differences in how states and territories confirm numbers in their jurisdictions.
Of the 776,093 total COVID-19 cases, blacks accounted for 68,369 cases compared with whites who accounted for 120,573 cases. Asians who accounted for 11,774 cases and Hispanics accounted for 43,844 cases. The data also includes Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islanders who account for 644 cases, Native Americans or Alaska Natives who account for 1,152 cases
By age group, blacks under 18 accounted for 781 cases (29,1%), blacks 18-44 accounted for 20,313 (33.6%), blacks 45 to 64 accounted for 26,517 cases (37.3%), blacks 65 to 74 accounted for 9,955 cases (36.8%) and blacks 75 and older accounted for 9,125 cases (25.8 %) and there 1,780 cases (27.1 %) involving people whose age group is not known. The total figure comes to 63,369 or 33.1 percent.
