By Samantha Young, California Healthline, July 29, 2020
When Will Lightbourne looked at the statistics behind California’s coronavirus cases, the disparities were “blindingly clear”: Blacks and Latinos are dying at higher rates than most other Californians.
As of Monday, Latinos account for 45.6% of coronavirus deaths in a state where they make up 38.9% of the population, according to data collected by the California Department of Public Health. Blacks account for 8.5% of the deaths but make up 6% of the population.
Lightbourne, who led California’s Department of Social Services under Gov. Jerry Brown, describes this pandemic as one that “rips the bandage off” a health care system long riddled with inequity.
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