- Study documents mortality disparities accounting for more than 250,000 excess deaths during the pandemic.
- Largest increases in mortality rates were seen among adults aged 25-64
A new cross-sectional study of data from the COVID-19 public health emergency (March 2020 to May 2023) suggests that that the pandemic disproportionately affected several racial ethnic minority groups in the U.S. The research team measured more than 1.38 million excess deaths during the pandemic. The team compared observed mortality rates to expected mortality rates, finding that all racial and ethnic groups experienced excess mortality, but the highest observed-to-expected mortality rates were among non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native, Hispanic, and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander populations.
They also observed the largest relative increases in mortality rates among a surprisingly young age group—adults aged 25 to 64 years. Among people ages 25 and under, over half of the excess deaths occurred in the non-Hispanic Black or African American population. Had excess deaths in all groups been like that seen in the non-Hispanic white population, more than 250,000 fewer excess deaths could have occurred. Results are published in JAMA Network Open.
“While pandemics are inevitable, disparities are not,” said Jeremy Faust, MD, Department of Emergency Medicine, Mass General Brigham, corresponding author of “Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Age-Specific All-Cause Mortality During the COVID-19 Pandemic."
“We document here massive mortality disparities during the COVID pandemic in the United States. These findings are a stark reminder that more efforts are required to protect high-risk groups and communities during emergencies, including pandemics and natural disasters.”
Paper cited: Faust SJ et al. "Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Age-Specific All-Cause Mortality During the COVID-19 Pandemic" JAMA Network Open DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.38918
