Nursing homes with a significant number of Black and Latino residents have been twice as likely to be hit by the coronavirus.
The coronavirus pandemic has devastated the nation’s nursing homes, contributing to at least 20% of the nation’s COVID-19 death toll.
The pandemic’s impact has been felt in all types of locales and in different sized nursing homes with varying quality ratings. But nursing homes with a significant population of Black and Latino residents have been twice as likely to get hit by the coronavirus than nursing homes where the population is overwhelmingly white, reports The New York Times.
The Times analysis covered the 22 hardest-hit states and the District of Columbia. It was based on data collected as of May 16. Some of the findings include:
- The race and ethnicity of the people living in a nursing home was a predictor of whether it was hit with COVID-19.
- More than 60% of nursing homes where at least a quarter of the residents are Black or Latino have reported at least one COVID-19 case. That’s double the rate of homes where Black and Latino residents make up less than 5% of the population.
- The federal government’s 5-star rating system was not a predictor of a COVID-19 outbreak. Predominantly Black and Latino nursing homes with high ratings were more likely to be affected by COVID-19 than low-rated nursing homes with a predominantly white population.
- The racial disparity remained even after accounting for the size of a nursing home, the infection rate in the surrounding county, and the neighborhood’s population density.
- Large homes with few Black and Latino residents were less likely to have outbreaks than large homes with more Black and Latino residents. A home in an urban area was less likely to get hit by the virus if it had a small Black and Latino population.
“The disparities in outbreaks among homes with more Latino and Black residents have … unfolded in confusing ways that experts say are difficult to explain,” writes the Times.
To better understand the disparities in Maryland, California, and Illinois, The Times teamed up with local news outlets to interview nursing home workers, residents, and their relatives.