Race, Racism, and Covid-19 in the US: Lessons Not Learnt
Journal: British Medical Journal (BMJ)
Published: February 26, 2024
Authors: Keisha L. Bentley-Edwards, Olanrewaju Adisa, Kennedy E. Ruff, Elizabeth S. McClure, and Whitney R. Robinson.
Abstract: The story of covid-19 in the United States is one of many systemic failures to protect its residents from preventable illness and death. Racist stereotypes about disease susceptibility were subsequently discredited by the data. Covid-19 brought the US to a sobering standoff with race, a social construct that through systemic racism materializes as disparate outcomes. Once testing became available researchers disaggregated and analyzed data along racial lines, providing a more accurate understanding that was unsurprising to anyone who has examined health equity: covid-19 is a preventable disease that disproportionately affects racial minorities. Although the effects were felt in all racialized communities, they were magnified most powerfully for black, Latino, and indigenous people in the US.
Citation: Bentley-Edwards, K. L., Adisa, O., Ruff, K. E., McClure, E. S., & Robinson, W. R. (2024). Race, racism, and covid-19 in the US: Lessons not learnt. BMJ, (384), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2023-076106
Image Credit: BMJ
Open Access Online Article Here.
