NBC News reports on a peer-reviewed study published last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association that revealed the life expectancy of Latinos in the U.S. decreased by nearly four years from 2019 to 2020.The rate at which Covid-19 continued to kill Latinos ages 65 or older during the pandemic slightly decreased in 2021, which has continued this year.
Last year, older Latinos died from the virus at 1.6 times the rate of whites. As of last month, older Latinos have been dying from the virus at 1.2 times the rate of whites this year, the research shows. That caused the Latino mortality advantage to increase to 15 percent last year and to 19.3 percent this year.
Despite the modest rebound, the overall Latino mortality advantage “has narrowed substantially,” researchers Marc A. Garcia of Syracuse University and Rogelio Sáenz of the University of Texas at San Antonio concluded.
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NBC News: Covid-19 narrows long-standing Latino mortality advantage, study finds
Brief: COVID-19 Has Reduced the Latino Mortality Advantage among Older Adults