Why the COVID pandemic hit non-white Americans the hardest

Mortality rose across all demographics during first few years of the pandemic, but COVID-19 hit non-white Americans the hardest. According to the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Health Statistics, the largest increase in mortality in 2020 was among the American Indian and Native Alaskan populations, which saw an increase of 36.7%. The increase in mortality was 29.7% among Black Americans and 29.4% among Asian Americans. For comparison, the increase in mortality among white Americans was less than 20%.