In Sedgwick County, COVID-19 disproportionately infecting people who are black

A racial breakdown of Sedgwick County residents infected with the new coronavirus shows that people who are black have been infected at a higher rate than Caucasians, according to data released this week.

Statewide data also shows black people have been infected and die at a higher rate than other racial groups. The same trend appears to hold in other states but nationwide data is lacking since many larger cities and states don’t report race.

Sedgwick County spokesperson Kate Flavin said local disparities could be from a variety of factors, including proximity to clusters, availability of testing and testing locations.

“More data (is) needed to determine why black or African Americans have a higher positive test rate than whites in Sedgwick County,” Flavin said in an email. “Rates among those who have tested positive may not reflect the true prevalence of COVID-19 in Sedgwick County.”

People over 60 and those with underlying health conditions have the greatest risk for severe illness, Flavin said.

There were 219 people infected in Sedgwick County as of noon Thursday.

The breakdown showed 56% of the cases were white, 23% unknown, 13% black or African American and 8% other race, according to Sedgwick County data.

White people account for 81% of Sedgwick County’s population, while black people make up about 9.3%, according to estimated 2019 Census data.

The approximately 29 black people infected in Sedgwick County gives an infection rate of about 61 people per 100,000. The roughly 123 white people infected equates to a rate of about 30 per 100,000.

Kansas, like many other states, shows higher disparities in infections and deaths among black people.

In Kansas, black people are infected at a rate of about 114 per 100,000, while white people are infected at a rate of about 33 per 100,000.

Kansas reported 1,588 cases on Thursday. Black people accounted for 17 percent of state’s cases and about 37 percent of deaths despite accounting for 6% of the population. Kansas didn’t have a race identifier for nine of the 80 deaths so those were not included in the percentage.

In Kansas, black people have been tested at a higher rate than white people: about 357 per 100,000 compared to roughly 283 per 100,000.

In Missouri, 29% of the cases and 33% of the deaths are black people, though they account for about 12% of the population. Black people, who represent about a third of Louisiana’s population, account for roughly 59% of deaths.

Coordinator for the White House Coronavirus Task Force Dr. Deborah Birx said in an April 7 briefing that black people are not more susceptible to the virus.

“We don’t have any data that suggests that,” Birx said. “What our data suggests is that they are more susceptible to more difficult disease and poorer outcomes.”

This story was originally published April 17, 2020 at 9:57 AM.