Pandemic-related racial and ethnic disparities among young people decreased over time

COVID-19 racial and ethnic disparities among young people, which were “substantial” early in the pandemic, decreased over time last year, mostly because of an increase in cases among white people, researchers reported in MMWR.

The study found that the “largest persistent disparities in COVID-19 incidence” occurred among Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NH/PI), non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) people, and Hispanic people, according to Miriam E. Van Dyke, PhD, an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer with the CDC COVID-19 Response Team, and colleagues.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected racial and ethnic minority groups in the United States. Whereas racial and ethnic disparities in severe COVID-19–associated outcomes, including mortality, have been documented, less is known about population-based disparities in infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19,” they wrote.

Van Dyke and colleagues used data from 689,672 COVID-19 cases reported to the CDC in 16 U.S. jurisdictions from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31 to explore racial and ethnic disparities among people aged younger than 25 years.

They calculated the COVID-19 incidence by race and ethnicity, sex and age for three 4-month periods — January to April, May to August, and September to December. They identified seven racial and ethnic categories — AI/AN, non-Hispanic Asian, non-Hispanic Black or African American, NH/PI, white, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic multiracial — separated people into five age groups: 0 to 4 years, 5 to 9 years, 10 to 14 years, 15 to 19 years, and 20 to 24 years.

Throughout 2020, the highest COVID-19 incidence when compared with white individuals was among NH/PI individuals, with a reported rate ratio (RR) of 4.03 in those aged 0 to 4 years and 3.21 in those aged 5 to 9 years.

Persons aged younger than 14 years who were Black or Asian experienced higher rates initially compared with white people, whereas rates were persistently higher among those who were NH/PI, AI/AN, and Hispanic throughout the entire year.

According to the study, among 15,068 cases of COVID-19 reported from January to April, the incidence of COVID-19 was substantially higher among minority groups compared with those who are white, with RRs ranging from 1.09 for non-Hispanic multiracial people to 4.62 for AI/AN people.

Among 177,778 reported cases from May to August, the RR increased from 2.49 to 4.57 per among NH/PI individuals, but decreased among other groups, the researchers said.

Decreases continued from September to December among 496,826 cases. The authors noted that this likely occurred because of a 320% increase in cases among white people.