A July study found that for every 10,000 people, 23 white people contract COVID-19 compared to 62 Black and 73 Latinx people. And according to the COVID Racial Data Tracker, minority populations have a much higher mortality rate than that of whites: For every 100K people, 74 Black Americans, 40 American Indian or Alaskan Natives and 40 Hispanic or Latino people die from the virus—compared to 30 whites. Why are minority communities disproportionately affected by the coronavirus? And what can we do as lab professionals to address these disparities? 

On this inaugural episode of Inside the Lab, our hosts Dr. Lotte Mulder and Ms. Kelly Swails are joined by  Dr. Von Samedi, MD, PhD, FASCP, Associate Professor of Pathology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Dr. Valerie Fitzhugh MD, FASCP Associate Professor and Interim Chair of the Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine at Rutgers University’s New Jersey Medical School, and Mr. Aaron Odegard, MS, MLS (ASCP) SMCM, Medical Technologist in the Infectious Diagnostic Laboratories at Baptist Health Jacksonville, to explore the disparities in COVID-19 cases among minority populations. 

The panelists explain why minority populations are more vulnerable to the coronavirus and how the pandemic is both exposing and exacerbating the disparities in our healthcare system. Listen in for insight around the pathology and laboratory community’s responsibility to speak up and serve as an agent for change and learn what we can do to combat the disparities and create a more inclusive environment for underserved patients. 

Key Takeaways

• How Black, Latinx and other minority populations bear a disproportionate burden of COVID-19 cases and experience a much higher mortality rate than their white counterparts
• Why minority communities are more vulnerable to the coronavirus than the general population
• How the pandemic is both exposing the existing disparities in healthcare and further expanding the incongruities in patient care
• The pathology and laboratory community’s responsibility to educate the community and serve as an agent for change

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