Counties with higher proportions of black residents had significantly more cases and deaths related to COVID-19, after accounting for confounding variables. Disproportionately black communities only make up ⅕ of the counties in the US but 52% of COVID-19 cases and 58% deaths. These findings highlight the importance of disaggregated race/ethnicity data and deliberate inclusion of social conditions, structural racism, and other socioeconomic factors in the pandemic response efforts (e.g. testing locations, health insurance).

Limitations:

• The county data could be subject to structural confounding
• Limited causal inference