PANDEMIC
Navigating the Inequities of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Boston By Kristin Meader, Public Hleath Major, 2022
T
he COVID-19 pandemic has affected all Boston residents in some way—whether it be through virus exposure, business closures, overwhelmed medical facilities, or one of the numerous other ways the pandemic has impacted life. While the pandemic has presented challenges to many, not everyone is facing the same struggle, particularly in how different neighborhoods throughout Boston are navigating this new COVID-19 world. Recent data from the Boston Public Health Commission shows that the lowest positive test rates are found in Boston’s wealthier neighborhoods, such as Back Bay, which has a 4.5 percent positive test rate.1 On the other hand, lowincome neighborhoods, such as East Boston, are being hit much harder with a positive test rate at 16.5%—roughly four times higher than that of Back Bay.1 Looking at the data from the Boston Public Health Commission and the Boston Planning & Developing Agency Research Division, it is clear that an increase in a neighborhood’s median annual income leads to a decrease in COVID-19 cases, as seen in Chart 1. However, income is not the only factor causing inequities in the impacts of COVID-19 on Boston’s neighborhoods. Racial health disparities have been present in Boston for decades, but the COVID-19 pandemic has magnified them. While Black residents make up a quarter of Boston’s population, they make up more than 40% of the city’s COVID-19 cases.1,2 Due to a series of systemic factors, Black residents have statistically lower education levels and income levels, and live in communities with denser housing and fewer resources.3 Together, these contributing factors have caused the rates of COVID-19 to be nearly 2.5 times higher in communities of color when compared to predominantly white communities.4 Civilians from Boston’s low-income communities and communities of color are more likely to have jobs that both increase their risk of exposure and are unlikely to offer the ability to work from home.4 These types of
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Photo courtesy of Boston Public Health Commission
jobs include cashiers, servers, and sanitation workers. Data from the spring of 2020 showed roughly 33% of Boston’s Black and Latinx residents physically went to work, while less than 15% of white residents physically went to work.5 Additionally, hardly any of the businesses employing Black and Latinx residents provided them with adequate testing for, despite the high risk of exposure at these jobs.5 In addition to an increased risk of exposure at work, those from low-income communities and communities of color are more likely to rely on public transportation to get to and from work.5 Spending more time on buses and trains further increases their risk of infection. Furthermore, many people rely on public transportation to get around the city for work and other essential activities, such as grocery shopping. There are many disparities in food access, meaning that wholesome food is located further away from low-income communities and communities of color, making these residents more likely to take
