LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Across the country, the number of African American COVID-19 cases is alarmingly disproportionate to whites catching and dying from the virus. Kentucky is no exception.
According to the latest census, African Americans make up 8.4% of Kentucky’s population, but Sunday, Governor Andy Beshear pointed out that 11.64% of cases with race data are black people. For deaths, the percentage is even worse at 21.51%.
“It is not o.k. and it’s not right,” Beshear said.
The governor also argued that despite the expansion of Medicaid in the state since the crisis began, “there’s a lot more that we should have done before now.”
Dr. Seyed Karimi, a health economist at the University of Louisville, says there is a direct correlation between income and health.
“The lower the income, the worse the health,” Dr. Karimi said.
Pre-existing health problems are a significant factor in many coronavirus deaths, and among African Americans, that includes diabetes, hypertension and asthma.
“The rate of underlying health issues is significantly higher when you look at Medicaid beneficiaries,” Dr. Karimi said.
He also believes current numbers are not completely accurate because he says time will likely show that many who have died while listed as a different cause of death are actually coronavirus-related deaths. Those victims were just not tested for the virus.
Dr. Karimi says we can learn from this with more data.
“If there is any second wave, then we can act.”
►Contact reporter John Charlton at jcharlton@whas11.com. Follow him on Twitter (@JCharltonNews) and Facebook.