While all Americans, regardless of socioeconomic background, have been affected by COVID-19, Black Americans from economically disadvantaged communities have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic’s public health and economic consequences. Many Black Americans and their communities lack sufficient income and wealth to buffer both the job loss crisis and the economic crisis that have resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these communities are physically dense, in both living and working environments, which puts these families at greater risk of being exposed to the virus. At the same time, Black Americans are overrepresented in frontline essential occupations, which has led to their increased risk of exposure to COVID-19. This overrepresentation, coupled with long-standing disconnection from the nation’s public and private health-care systems, has translated to a disproportionate share of individuals and families that are unwilling to avail themselves of opportunities to vaccinate throughout spring and summer 2021, when several effective vaccines became available to most, if not all, adult residents of the United States (Shah 2021).
The way back: Assessing economic recovery among Black Americans during COVID-19 (brookings.edu)
