Giving Compass' Take:

• Christine Ro elaborates on the countless reasons behind why some racial groups suffer disproportionate effects from COVID than others.

•  Coronavirus is not inherently racist. How have societal injustices contributed to how some racial groups suffer more? What are you doing to correct this issues behind why some racial groups suffer more from coronavirus than others? 

• Learn about how we can use this time to address colossal gaps in equity and conservation.

Even with a virus that doesn’t respect borders, vulnerability is spread unevenly. And some of the largest disparities seen so far have involved race and ethnicity.

The pandemic is the latest example of how racial dynamics play out in complex – and still not entirely understood – ways.

In many majority-white countries like the US, people from other ethnic and racial groups have less access to economic resources – whether that means high-earning jobs or a full pantry. That economic vulnerability often translates to poorer health outcomes.

Of course, this doesn’t just mean certain groups are more vulnerable to Covid-19. It also means they’re more vulnerable to its economic consequences. In South Africa, for example, development economist at the University of Witwatersrand Imraan Valodia has forecast that the lockdown will lead to a 45% loss of income for the poorest 10% of households, with especially harmful effects on informal workers without a safety net. As a result, he is calling for an end to the lockdown.

Persistent environmental injustice means that disproportionately high numbers of ethnic-minority households in North America and Europe live near incinerators and landfills, and schools with high proportions of minority students are located near highways and industrial sites. This too affects vulnerability to lung-inflaming conditions like asthma and Covid-19.

There are healthcare disparities as well. In the US, for example, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans and African Americans are less likely than whites and Asian Americans to have health insurance.

Racial biases also play a role. US surveys have found that medical staff are more uncertain and less communicative with non-white patients than with whites.

Even medical staff themselves may not be shielded from these effects: investigation is ongoing into why the first 10 doctors in the UK reported to have died from Covid-19 were all BAME.

Read the full article about why some racial groups suffer more than others by Christine Ro at BBC.