Native Americans 3.5 Times More Likely to Contract COVID-19 in 23 US States - Report

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th August, 2020) Native Americans, including those living in Alaska, are three-and-a-half times more likely to contract the novel coronavirus than white Americans, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a report on Wednesday.

"In 23 states with adequate race/ethnicity data, the cumulative incidence of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 among AI/AN persons was 3.5 times that among non-Hispanic white persons," the report said. "American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) persons appear to be disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic."

However, limited data was available to quantify the disparity in novel coronavirus incidence, severity and outcomes among American Indian and Alaska Native persons compared with those among other racial and ethnic groups, the report said.

"Although non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native persons account for 0.7 percent of the US population, a recent analysis reported that 1.3 percent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases reported to CDC with known race and ethnicity were among AI/AN persons," the report said.

Historical trauma and persisting racial inequity have contributed to disparities in health and socioeconomic factors between American Indian and Alaska Native and white populations that have adversely affected their communities. These factors likely contribute to the observed elevated incidence of cases among the American Indian and Alaska Native population, the report added.