A population analysis of the initial SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in Chicago: Implications for the future

Ekezie, I.; Tiamiyu, A. A.

Objectives. We set out to examine the initial pattern of SARS-CoV-2 infection among different racial and ethnic groups in a large multiracial city in the United States and investigate the implications for containing possible future outbreaks. Design. Cross-sectional study. Methods. We accessed racially stratified data released daily by the Chicago Department of Public Health and analyzed the ethic distribution of SARS-CoV-2 infections and fatalities over a 30-day period at the outset of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in Chicago. We computed the point prevalence and the cause-specific mortality rates for White, Hispanic, and African Americans to compare infection and death rates among Hispanics and African Americans relative to Whites. Results. We found that the initial SARS-CoV-2 infection rates among Hispanics and African Americans, respectively, were 1.59 and 2.38 times the infection rate among the White population in Chicago. The corresponding death rates for Hispanics and African Americans, respectively, were 1.29 and 3.65 times the death rate in the White population. When infection and death rates for African Americans vs Whites were analyzed (using Mann-Whitney U testing), the P value was <.0001 for both measures, demonstrating statistical significance. Comparing these same measures for Hispanic vs Whites, neither the infection rates (P=.1091) nor death rates (P=.3817) reached a level of statistical significance. Conclusion. During the initial outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, Hispanic and African American Chicagoans were infected and died at greater rates than Whites. Multiple factors likely account for these differences;however, controlling these factors could have the effect of mitigating the initial impact of the disease in the most affected population groups and reducing the overall magnitude of the disease in the United States. © 2021 Cliggott Publishing Co.. All rights reserved.