Ethnic/Racial Disparity in Mortality from COVID-19: Data for the Year 2020 in Brazil

Marina Dos Santos; Júlia Oliveira Penteado; Rodrigo de Lima Brum; Alicia da Silva Bonifácio; Paula Florêncio Ramires; Diuster de Franceschi Gariboti; Ruana Michela Santos Cardoso; Flavio Manoel Rodrigues da Silva Júnior

doi:10.1007/s40980-022-00112-2

Ethnic/Racial Disparity in Mortality from COVID-19: Data for the Year 2020 in Brazil

Spat Demogr. 2023;11(1):1-17. doi: 10.1007/s40980-022-00112-2. Epub 2023 Jan 16.

Authors

Marina Dos Santos¹, Júlia Oliveira Penteado¹, Rodrigo de Lima Brum¹, Alicia da Silva Bonifácio¹, Paula Florêncio Ramires¹, Diuster de Franceschi Gariboti¹, Ruana Michela Santos Cardoso², Flavio Manoel Rodrigues da Silva Júnior¹

Affiliations

¹ Universidade Federal do Rio Grande - FURG, Avenida Itália, Km 8, Campus Carreiros, Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul 96203-900 Brazil.
² Universidade Federal de Sergipe - UFS, Av. Marechal Rondon, S/N - Jardim Rosa Elze, São Cristóvão, SE 49100-000 Brazil.

Abstract

The study aimed to investigate ethnic/racial disparities in COVID-19 mortality in Brazilian federative units and their respective capitals in 2020. Population data and number of COVID-19 deaths were extracted by skin color (white, black, brown and indigenous) from all Brazilian states and their respective capitals. The mortality rate of COVID-19 by ethnicity in Brazilian states was higher between people from brown skin color, followed by indigenous and black. Only in one state, in the Federal District and in the federal capital, age-standardized mortality rates were higher among white's people. There is a high percentage of deaths from COVID-19 higher than expected among non-white individuals, especially in south-central states and capitals of the country. Mortality from COVID-19 affect ethnic-racial groups unevenly in Brazil and the number of excess deaths among non-whites was over 9000. Urgent government measures are needed to reduce the racial disparity in health indicators in Brazil.

Keywords: Coronavirus; Health disparities; Health inequality; Racial inequalities; Skin color; Social vulnerability.

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