Covid-19 deadlier among black and multiracial patients in Brazil

A study carried out by researchers at the Health Operations and Intelligence Center of Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro found that casualties of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS, which can be caused by Covid-19) are more likely among black and multiracial patients than among whites in Brazil.

The study compared a sample of 29,933 “resolved” cases of Covid-19 — which includes both deaths and recoveries — and analyzed mortality rates according to ethnicity, age, education level, and the human development index of the city where each case was recorded.

The results showed that 55 percent of black and multiracial ARDS patients died, while just 38 percent of white patients lost their lives. “We have verified that the death ratio among black and multiracial patients was higher than among whites, even considering the age, education level, and when the case was recorded in a city with a high HDI”, wrote the team of researchers.

Meanwhile, illiterate black or multiracial patients have a 76 percent chance of dying from Covid-19 in Brazil — 3.8 times more than white patients with college degrees, “which confirms the huge disparities in access and quality of treatment in Brazil”, according to the study. 

Unlike what many analysts said at the beginning of the pandemic, Covid-19 has not been a “great equalizer,” especially not in Brazil.

• #outbreak
• #racism