Changes in COVID-19-Associated Deaths During a Year Among Blacks and Hispanics Compared to Whites in the State of Connecticut

BACKGROUND: With recent COVID-19 vaccination rates relatively high in the USA, the USA still maintains the most documented cases globally,[1] even though COVID-19 cases, hospitalization, and mortality have been declining. However, the health burden has been largely felt in communities involving racial and ethnic minorities. Thus, in order to provide a clearer picture of what is happening in Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities, we examined the racial/ethnic differences of monthly COVID-19 deaths in Connecticut. METHODS: This is an epidemiological study analyzing mortality data from March 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021, obtained from the Connecticut State Department of Public Health. The data include cause of death (COVID-19 death identified by ICD-10 code U071), race/ethnicity (non-Hispanic White (White), non-Hispanic Black (Black), and Hispanic), sex, and age. Both crude and age-adjusted rates were reported by racial/ethnic groups. To compare age-adjusted rates between racial groups, with estimated age-adjusted death counts as outcomes, between-racial group rate ratios, 95% confidence intervals, and p values significant at < 0.05 were derived from the Poisson regression model. RESULTS: From March 2020 to May 2020 (wave 1) of COVID-19 cases, the COVID-19-related mortality rates were the highest for all three race groups (Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics) with statistical group differences (p < 0.05). Blacks had the highest rates of deaths followed by Hispanics and then Whites. Further, more Whites died in a nursing home when compared to Blacks and Hispanics. From June 2010 to October 2020 (wave 2), COVID-19 mortality declined significantly for all three race groups with no statistical differences between groups. COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes declined for all three racial/ethnic groups. From November 2020 to February 2021 (wave 3), COVID-19 mortality rates were significantly higher compared to wave 2 but lower than wave 1 for all three race groups. The mortality rates for Blacks and Hispanics were higher than Whites. Hispanics had the highest rates of deaths, followed by Blacks, and then Whites (p < 0.05). Whites showed the lowest mortality rates among all three racial/ethnic groups. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, COVID-19 health disparities among Black and Hispanic populations were evident in this study. Blacks and Hispanics had significantly higher mortality rates when compared to Whites. Blacks had the highest mortality rates during wave 1, and in wave 3, Hispanics has the highest mortality rates. Our data are important because they show monthly COVID-19 deaths data by race. Data reported this way gives a better and more accurate understanding of what is really happening in Black, Indigenous, and people of color populations.