American Indians and Alaska Natives (AIAN) are dying of COVID-19 at much higher rates and at younger ages than other groups. In some states, the COVID-19 death rate for AIAN people is similar to that of whites who are 20 to 30 years older. These disparities–together with both a recent and long history of racism and crimes against First Nations–make a strong case that federal, state, and local governments should make every effort to work with Tribal governments and the Indian Health Services (IHS) to ensure scarce vaccine resources are allocated to, and ultimately reach, American Indians and Alaska Natives of all ages as soon as possible.

Recent media reports point to high death rates and highlight the loss of elders and fluent Indigenous language speakers. Here we show that analyzing death rates by age and focusing on states where data are most complete reveals even more shocking disparities.

An estimated 2.4 million people identify as AIAN alone (not in combination with any other race or ethnicity)[1], 21 percent of whom live on American Indian reservations. The poverty rate for AIAN people (23 percent) is similar to that of Black people (21 percent), but much higher than the average (12.3 percent); and American Indians residing on reservations have some of the highest rates of chronic diseases and mortality in the country. Access to health care for AIAN people on or near reservations and management of IHS has improved in recent decades, however, facilities are often still lacking some basic infrastructure to meet public health needs.

Read the full article about COVID-19 deaths among American Indians and Alaska Natives by Randall Akee and Sarah Reber at Brookings.