Health Equity

New data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) confirm that patients with underlying medical conditions like heart disease or diabetes face an elevated risk of complications from COVID-19. 

The report confirms that MSDC's push for local and federal officials to include messaging on health management in COVID-19 announcements was accurate.

The report analyzed data from the over 1.7 million people infected with COVID-19 between January 22 and May 30. Because ethnic and racial demographic was not comprehensively collectedly over that time period, only about 600,000 people had race and ethnicity information and thus the CDC could not provide complete ethnic or racial breakdowns for underlying conditions. However, the data could show that ethnic minorities were over represented in the ill population:

• 33% of patients were Hispanic (18% of population overall) 
• 22% were black (13% of the population)
• 1.3% were Native American (0.7% of the population)

Overall, individuals with underlying medical conditions were hospitalized six times as often as healthy individuals and died 12 times as often. The most common underlying conditions in people infected with COVID-19 were heart disease (32%), diabetes (30%) and chronic lung disease (18%).

You can read the entire report here.

MSDC has long advocated that public health messages should include messaging about managing or preventing underlying health conditions. In its letter to the Mayor, MSDC urged the District to promote smoking cessation, up-to-date prescriptions, and improved diet.