Black and Hispanic Americans are more concerned about the risks of catching COVID-19 than their white counterparts, with a much higher percentage of them wearing masks in public and in indoor spaces than white Americans, and when they were around others.
AP News reports that in general, the two groups are far more cautious in their approach to the pandemic, with recent polls reflecting diverging preferences on how US citizens deal with the pandemic as federal, state and local restrictions fall away.
Despite majority favourability among adults overall for measures like mask mandates, public health experts said divided opinions among racial groups reflect not only the unequal impact of the pandemic on people of colour but also apathy among some white Americans.
Black Americans (63%) and Hispanic Americans (68%) continue to be more likely than white Americans (45%) to say they are at least somewhat worried about themselves or a relative being infected with COVID-19, according to an April poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Both the black and Hispanic communities have experienced higher rates of illness and death from COVID throughout the pandemic, said Amelia Burke-Garcia, public health programme area director at NORC. This has led to higher levels of stress, anxiety and awareness of the risks of catching COVID-19, she said, meaning people of colour are more likely to feel measures like mask mandates are needed.
“We’ve seen these trends endure throughout the pandemic,” Burke-Garcia said. “Now, as mitigation measures are being rolled back, is there’s still great concern among black and Hispanic Americans around the risk of getting sick.”
Seventy-one percent of black Americans favour masks for people travelling on airplanes, trains and other public transportation. That’s more than the 52% of white Americans who support mask mandates for travellers; 29% of white Americans are opposed. Among Hispanic Americans, 59% are in favour and 20% are opposed. The poll was conducted before a ruling by a federal judge scuttled the governmentʼs mask mandate for travellers.
AP News adds that Plant, who is black, said she sees people treating the pandemic as if it’s over, and she wants the mask mandate to continue.
In January, an AP-NORC poll showed black and Hispanic Americans were more likely than white Americans to feel certain things would be essential for getting back to life without feeling at risk of infection. For example, 76% of black Americans and 55% of Hispanic Americans said that to return to normal, it was essential for people to regularly wear masks in public indoor places, compared with 38% of white Americans.
Last month, an AP-NORC poll showed blacks and Hispanics, 69% and 49%, were more likely than whites, 35%, to say they always or often wear a mask around others.
Communities of colour also have a different perception of risk from the pandemic than their white counterparts, said Michael Niño, a sociology professor at the University of Arkansas who co-authored a paper on race, gender and masking in the pandemic.
“Masking is something that is relatively cheap, it’s effective, and it’s something that can be easily done,” he said. “It doesn’t require any sort of governmental response. These broader histories of racism and sexism in the United States are most certainly shaping some of the patterns we’re seeing.”
AP News article – Racial split on COVID-19 endures as restrictions ease in US (Open access)
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