The Disproportionate Impact of COVID-19 among Undocumented Immigrants and Racial Minorities in the US

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has had an unprecedented effect, especially among under-resourced minority communities. Surveillance of those at high risk is critical for preventing and controlling the pandemic. We must better understand the relationships between COVID-19-related cases or deaths and characteristics in our most vulnerable population that put them at risk to target COVID-19 prevention and management efforts. Population characteristics strongly related to United States (US) county-level data on COVID-19 cases and deaths during all stages of the pandemic were identified from the onset of the epidemic and included county-level socio-demographic and comorbidities data, as well as daily meteorological modeled observation data from the North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR), and the NARR high spatial resolution model to assess the environment. Advanced machine learning (ML) approaches were used to identify outbreaks (geographic clusters of COVID-19) and included spatiotemporal risk factors and COVID-19 vaccination efforts, especially among vulnerable and underserved communities. COVID-19 outcomes were found to be negatively associated with the number of people vaccinated and positively associated with age, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and the minority population. There was also a strong positive correlation between unauthorized immigrants and the prevalence of COVID-19 cases and deaths. Meteorological variables were also investigated, but correlations with COVID-19 were relatively weak. Our findings suggest that COVID-19 has had a disproportionate impact across the US population among vulnerable and minority communities. Findings also emphasize the importance of vaccinations and tailored public health initiatives (e.g., mask mandates, vaccination) to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and the number of COVID-19 related deaths across all populations.

Perceived access to general and mental healthcare in primary care in Colombia during COVID-19: A cross-sectional study

“…For example, in a study among pregnant participants in Massachusetts, those of color (Black, Asian, Multiracial, and/or Hispanic/Latino/a) were more likely to report experienced barriers in their mental healthcare during the pandemic ( 33 ). Structural barriers and healthcare access restrictions and policies in relation to immigrants affected their mental and physical health and their probability of seeking and/or actually receiving healthcare during the pandemic ( 34 , 35 ). In contrast, patients with higher income tend to be more likely to seek and navigate services to gain access to a service.…”

Psychosocial and Sociodemographic Determinants Related to Chronic Diseases in Immigrants Residing in Spain

“…In particular, immigrants have seen their psychosocial situations worsened, thus affecting their health [ 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 ]. Being an immigrant and suffering from a chronic disease such as high cholesterol, diabetes or hypertension can be a risk factor that can lead to other diseases such as COVID-19 [ 94 ]. Social support and the promotion of support networks can buffer immigrants’ current situations with regard to their difficulty accessing health services [ 80 , 94 ].…”

“…Being an immigrant and suffering from a chronic disease such as high cholesterol, diabetes or hypertension can be a risk factor that can lead to other diseases such as COVID-19 [ 94 ]. Social support and the promotion of support networks can buffer immigrants’ current situations with regard to their difficulty accessing health services [ 80 , 94 ]. In the current context of health systems encompassed by the COVID-19 sanitary crisis, it is more necessary than ever to attend to the risk factors and social determinants of health in general and immigrant populations in particular, since giving this matter the attention it requires can contribute to improved quality of life and the perception of health.…”

Print Rights with a Thousand Masks: Migrant Vulnerability, Resistance and Human Rights Law

“…Second, embedded vulnerability draws attention to the reality that embodied vulnerability is not equally experienced throughout the human population (Cole, 2016) but varies greatly based on social processes, such as discrimination and racialization (Oliveri, 2018), and on legal processes, such as the exclusion of undocumented migrants from social protection that derives from migration and alienage law (Fineman, 2010). The COVID-19 pandemic, for example, while revealing a universal embodied vulnerability, has had a disproportionate impact on racialized people and undocumented migrants (Hasan Bhuiyan et al, 2021;Kumar et al, 2021;Niezna et al, 2021). The embodied vulnerability to the virus is exacerbated by the embedded vulnerability of being undocumented.…”