Hi there.
Shankar here.
One of the bleak realities of the Covid-19 pandemic is that not every group has been affected equally.
Older Americans have suffered more than the young residents of some cities and states have faced a higher risk than others.
There are also vast racial disparities.
In Chicago, for example, black people make up 30% of the city's population.
They are 56% of the city's Covid-19 deaths.
Here in Los Angeles, 16% of deaths are african american.
Only 9% of the population is african american.
And this doctor I represent that legacy of growing up poor and black in America.
And I and many black Americans are at higher risk for Covid.
Black Americans are far more likely than white Americans to have contracted the coronavirus or died from Covid-19 many of the reasons for these disparities reach back to before, before the pandemic began.
There are longstanding inequities in the healthcare system.
In 2019, we talked about a specific source of racial disparities.
We also considered an uncomfortable solution.
It's a timely topic, and we decided to bring it back today.
Here it is.
This is hidden brain.
I'm Shankar Vedantam.
There is comfort in the familiar.