Current Events > Young Latinos are dying of COVID at an alarming rate

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https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-12-09/young-latinos-death-covid-high-rates-california

In California, younger Latinos are dying of COVID-19 at much higher rates than their white and Asian counterparts. Younger Black people also are dying at high rates, but the disparity is starkest for Latinos. As more people get vaccinated, pandemic restrictions lift and the economy rebounds, the families of the young Latinos who died will feel the loss for decades to come not just the grief but the long-term financial hardships. It will be harder for their children to get an education and achieve upward mobility, potentially widening the class divide in the coming decades.

Researchers have long observed a phenomenon known as the Latino paradox. The average Latino life expectancy is longer than for white people, despite poor access to healthcare and higher rates of poverty and diabetes. So many Latinos have died young of COVID-19 that researchers are wondering whether the paradox will hold. Collectively, Latinos in California have lost about 370,000 years of potential life to COVID-19 as of Dec. 1, UCLA biostatistics researcher Jay Xu said. Younger Latinos vulnerability to COVID-19 stems from a confluence of socioeconomic and health factors, researchers believe. Lack of health insurance, or poor coverage with high copays, may lead people to delay going to the hospital, increasing the potential for a severe and deadly case, said Rita Hamad, associate director of the UC San Francisco Center for Health Equity. Latinos are more likely to live in overcrowded and multigenerational housing with older immigrant relatives, have poor access to healthcare and work in essential industries that require them to show up in person. Latinos have the lowest vaccination rate of any demographic statewide, with younger Latinos particularly lagging. The reasons include misinformation on social media and inflexible work schedules that leave little time for an appointment. Public health experts and community advocates are trying to get the word out to Latinos that they need the shot, especially because they have already lost so much to the virus. The ripple effects of each death are profound. Some younger Latinos were providing for several generations of their families, both here and abroad.

Lebronwon posted...

The average Latino life expectancy is longer than for white people, despite poor access to healthcare and higher rates of poverty and diabetes

This is because Hipanic populations in the US have a longstanding culture of being anal retentive concerning hygiene, general cleanliness, staying warm, and well-done steak. This is all developed as countermeasures for shitty housing and no insurance, and all abuelas stand as testament.

Unfortunately, superstition is rampant, and I believe that ties into all the covid misinfo.