by Steve James on Mon Jul 13, 2020 8:10 am
Well, in NYC, the majority of deaths have been people of Hispanic origin. In Brooklyn, Hasidic Jews were disproportionately affected. At that time, NYS made up the majority of nation's cases, and half the deaths. Right after the NY surge, outbreaks occurred in midwestern meat processing plants, whose employees were often immigrants. In all cases, infections were linked to communities, not races or ethnic groups. I.e., people who lived in nursing homes, prisons, tribal reservations and housing developments, or who attended large gatherings were the most at risk.
Someone who is obese, diabetic, with cardio-respiratory problems, and immunological issues will be at higher risk. If that person is elderly and immobile, the risk gets higher. There are people with those conditions of every "race." It might be true that access to hospital care is not universally available. But, I think it's a more useful way to identify at risk individuals who need to take special precautions.
Afa blood type, that could be used in addition to the presence of other conditions to suggest a more urgent treatment course. However, that would happen when the patient is already at the hospital, and can get tested for covid to begin with. I'm not sure that everyone knows their blood type, --but it'd be prudent to believe that one has the type that makes the disease more serious.
The vitamin D thing is interesting, but dark skinned people get more than enough of the vitamin when they're in the sun. So, it might more true to say that people who stay inside out of the sun are more susceptible. But, it was a relatively snowless winter here; people were out all the time. (Despite the dreaded lock down. I remember writing in this thread that I thought they were foolish. I ride by the same places now, and it's not the same. There are fewer groups and the groups are smaller).
Afa Africa, I think the number of deaths in W.Africa has just surpassed the ebola outbreak total, around 12K. Africa, however, is 3x the size of the US. There are cities as dense and modern as any in Europe and places that are uninhabited. South Africa is having a problem now. Anyway, there's plenty of sun there.
South America is also having a problem. Brazil has 2/3rd the US population, but 1/2 the number of deaths. The health system there is not set up to take care of the poor or the Indigenous people. So, the demographic breakdown might seem the same. Otoh, the fact of the Americas is that individuals from any population that has been here more than 150 years are genetically mixed, neither overly light nor dark, with dna fro many sources. It's almost impossible to find an African American descendant with no European ancestry. It is different on the African continent.
New Zealand has had almost no cases of covid. It has a diverse population. But, it has the advantage of being an island. We are not, and that's why behavior is most important right now. The surge in cases happening now is greater than it was in March. That's because the virus spread, not because of any prior disposition to infection or serious illness. The virus was on the west coast first.
Just wear a mask. The longer people allow the virus to spread, the longer we'll be in the crapper.
"A man is rich when he has time and freewill. How he chooses to invest both will determine the return on his investment."