GSA Journalist in Aging Article in U.S News & World Report- Lives Cut Short: COVID-19's Heavy Burden on Older Latinos
U.S. News & World Report has published an article authored by GSA Journalist in Aging Fellow Ruben Castenada titled, "Lives Cut Short: COVID-19's Heavy Burden on Older Latinos."
"The coronavirus pandemic has eaten away at the Latino edge in life expectancy in staggering fashion, and taken a disproportionate toll on older members of the community compared with whites," the author says. He talks with people who lost family members, looks at the data and addresses possible reasons why.
"Over the entire year of 2020, older Latinos ages 65 and up died at more than twice the rate of older whites from COVID-19," according to a research brief by Rogelio Saenz, University of Texas at San Antonio, and Marc Garcia, Syracuse University. "Overall, there is no single reason why older Latinos have been dying of COVID-19 at a higher rate than non-Hispanic whites, Saenz says. But it’s important to keep in mind, adds Garcia, that structural inequality in access to health care, education and well-paying jobs – as well as redlining practices and policies that segregated many Hispanics over the years in under-resourced neighborhoods – all have played a role." The article parses out "an array of factors that help fuel the disparity" that experts point out including low rates of health insurance, transportation, language and employment, cultural reasons and high rates of certain chronic diseases.
Read the article.
JAHF is a co-sponsor of GSA's Journalists in Aging Fellows Program.
Learn about the Journalists in Aging Fellowship.
