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Nine months into the pandemic, data on who is being impacted by the coronavirus is wildly incomplete. It's possible groups that are at greater risk around the country—Black, Latino, and Native American people—are being undercounted https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/venessawong/coronavirus-missing-data-racial-inequality via @BuzzFeedNews
Here's what's missing in states with surging rates: in North Dakota, about 37% of cases were of unknown race, in Wyoming and Iowa 30%; and in Nebraska, 15%. In the CDC's national tally, race/ethnicity is missing in about HALF of cases https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/venessawong/coronavirus-missing-data-racial-inequality via @BuzzFeedNews
New York State surprisingly doesn't still doesn't report any race data on COVID-19 cases https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/venessawong/coronavirus-missing-data-racial-inequality via @BuzzFeedNews
@SenWarren said to @BuzzFeedNews "The federal response must include better data collection between the CDC, its partner agencies, state and local health departments, and Indian Health Service, and Congress must act to make public health and demographic data reporting mandatory.”
As the virus moves into areas with far smaller populations of color that are more likely to be uninsured, unemployed, and live in poverty but have less visibility due to their size, it is important that they are not overlooked. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/venessawong/coronavirus-missing-data-racial-inequality via @BuzzFeedNews
Because the share of cases with no race data in ND remains so large, “it may be hard to look at what's going on in our minority communities,” said an epidemiologist in Fargo. “I think any amount of data is more helpful.” https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/venessawong/coronavirus-missing-data-racial-inequality via @BuzzFeedNews
Across the US, racial minorities are more likely to be essential workers, live in more crowded conditions and have higher rates of underlying health conditions https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/venessawong/coronavirus-missing-data-racial-inequality via @BuzzFeedNews
Yet, racial minorities are also more likely to lack access to healthcare or insurance, and Black and Latino people may feel uncomfortable documenting their race due to fear that it will limit their access to care. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/venessawong/coronavirus-missing-data-racial-inequality via @BuzzFeedNews
"I don't have any reason to think if we could identify all those unknowns our understanding of disparities would totally change. My hunch is, based on historic access and equity issues, it would probably just further slide the disparity a bit more to the extreme.” — @JenniferNuzzo
Having more complete race data on coronavirus cases is important to "help inform policy, and more importantly, implementation of public health guidance.” Health officials need this data to better target their response. — @UREssien
Data on how rural communities specifically are being impacted as the virus spreads rapidly in rural America is also lacking. At this late point, the absence of more granular information is “making analysis of rural populations impossible,” said Keith Mueller of @RUPRIHealth
