Abstract
The costs of COVID-19 are extensive, and, like the fallout of most health and environmental crises in the US, there is growing evidence that these costs weigh disproportionately on communities of color. We investigated whether county-level racial composition and fine particulate pollution (PM2.5) are indicators for COVID-19 incidence and death rates in the state of Texas. Using county-level data, we ran linear regressions of percent minority as well as historic 2000–2016 PM2.5 levels against COVID-19 cases and deaths per capita. We found that a county's percent minority racial composition, defined as the percentage of population that identifies as Black or Hispanic, highly correlates with COVID-19 case and death rates. Using Value-of-Statistical-Life calculations, we found that economic costs from COVID-19 deaths fall more heavily on Black and Hispanic residents in Harris County, the most populous county in Texas. We found no consistent evidence or significant correlations between historic county-average PM2.5 concentration and COVID-19 incidence or death. Our findings suggest that public health and economic aid policy should consider the racially-segregated burden of disease to better mitigate costs and support equity for the duration and aftermath of health crises.
Highlights
The costs of COVID-19 are extensive, and, like the fallout of most health and environmental crises in the US, there is growing evidence that these costs weigh disproportionately on communities of color
We investigate whether pollution and race/ethnicity are correlated with the observed variation in per capita COVID-19 incidence and deaths among the 254 counties in Texas
The cost for the Hispanic/Latinx and the Black populations are stark. These findings suggest that the Hispanic/Latinx and Black communities in Harris County carry a disproportionate amount of the economic costs associated with COVID-19 fatalities
Summary
The costs of COVID-19 are extensive, and, like the fallout of most health and environmental crises in the US, there is growing evidence that these costs weigh disproportionately on communities of color. We investigated whether county-level racial composition and fine particulate pollution (PM2.5) are indicators for COVID-19 incidence and death rates in the state of Texas. Preliminary numbers from the American Public Media Research Lab, for example, suggest that the COVID-19 mortality rate for Black Americans is 2.3 times as high as the rate for white Americans[7] These disparities may be the result of many different factors. Some existing studies have investigated the correlation between COVID-19 incidents and several other factors These include, for example, the use of public transport, race/ethnic minority status, housing prices, mean temperature, smoking status, age, access to healthcare, pollution, etc. Communities of color tend to have a higher percentage population in more heavily polluted regions[19] Taken together, these factors raise concerns about health and environmental justice
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