Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts

COVID-19 Data By Race And Ethnicity

May 1, 2020
The Mass Public Health Association released an updated analysis of COVID-19 data on April 22, 2020 , which showed

The Mass Public Health Association released an updated analysis of COVID-19 data on April 22, 2020 , which showed "per capita, cases for Latinx residents are more than three times that of White residents, while per capita cases for Black residents are more than two-and-a-half times that of White residents". 


It is important to examine data to understand racial and ethnic inequities related to COVID-19 so that action can be taken to address inequities. National level data has demonstrated inequities among communities of color and though these inequities likely exist in many places across the country, Massachusetts testing data collected to date should be interpreted cautiously.


Race and ethnicity data was not initially collected for cases so case data being examined has had a large percentage who were missing race and ethnicity data and were classified as “unknown.” In addition, testing has been very limited due to shortages in availability of testing materials and many people who may have had the disease were not able to be tested . Thus , the percent testing positive is dependent on who is tested and not necessarily reflective of the distribution of COVID-19 in the general population.

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