A year later, the communities of People of Color are still suffering at a much higher rate than white communities. In November 2021, the CDC stated, “It has highlighted that health equity is still not a reality as COVID-19 has unequally affected many racial and ethnic minority groups, putting them more at risk of getting sick and dying from COVID-19.” One study in Atlanta showed 79% of Blacks with COVID-19 were hospitalized versus 13% of whites. COVID-19 has resulted in a drop in life expectancy among whites of 1.2 years. Among the Black and Latinx communities it was more than 3 years.
For those confident that the Omicron variant may not be as harsh as previous variants, it’s important to realize that, while most might come out of it okay, they can still unwittingly infect others along the way—the elderly, people with compromised immune systems, people with respiratory problems—who could end up hospitalized or dead. Also, almost half of those who recover from initial COVID-19 illness have “long-haul COVID,” with persistent symptoms of brain fog, shortness of breath, fatigue, dizziness, and headaches.
For those pointing out that there are “breakthrough” cases in which the vaccinated contract COVID-19. Yes, but they also have lighter symptoms and are at a much less risk of dying than the unvaccinated. The crucial statistic here is this: 98-99% of Americans dying of COVID-19 are unvaccinated.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member