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Covid-19 Is Hurting Black Americans More in Almost Every Way

The demographic is already taking a disproportionate hit both economically and physically from the pandemic. 

EMS workers transport a patient on the side walk outside of Mount Sinai hospital in New York on April 13.

EMS workers transport a patient on the side walk outside of Mount Sinai hospital in New York on April 13.

Photographer: David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

Covid-19 is more likely to kill black Americans, and for those that survive, the pandemic will take a devastating toll on their jobs and future earning potential, a new McKinsey & Co. report finds.

Black Americans are about 30% more likely than white Americans to have health conditions that exacerbate the effects of the virus, such as hypertension and diabetes, the report published Tuesday says. Black workers are also overrepresented in high-contact essential services, making up 33% of nursing assistants and 39% of hospital orderlies. “Black workers are putting their lives and health on the line,” the report reads.