New CDC data shows that black people are dying from COVID-19 at about the same rate as white people more than a decade older, according to an analysis by Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institution.
The nonpartisan think tank analyzed COVID-19 death data from Feb. 1 to June 6, and also used the 2018 U.S. Census Population Estimates.
Both black and Hispanic/Latino people are dying at much higher rates than white people, in all age categories. Data for the American Indian and Alaska Native population regarding COVID-19 death rates is currently incomplete.
These disparities are especially notable in somewhat younger age groups. Among people 45-54 years, black and Hispanic/Latino death rates are at least six times higher than for whites.
The crude death rate for black people is twice that for whites, and the crude death rate for Hispanic/Latinos is similar to that of whites. But accounting for the fact that the black and especially Hispanic/Latino populations are much younger, the age-adjusted death rates show larger gaps. The age-adjusted COVID-19 death rate for black people is 3.6 times that for whites, and the age-adjusted death rate for Hispanic/Latino people is 2.5 times that for whites.
The need to take age into account is paramount because there is a much higher percentage of the white population in older age groups. Older people are more likely to die from COVID-19, and whites are much more likely to be in the oldest age groups.