MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Health officials' data shows nearly half of the coronavirus deaths in Alabama have been in African Americans even though about a fourth of the state’s population is black.
The Alabama Department of Public Health released demographic data Tuesday on confirmed infections and deaths. Of the 39 verified deaths in the state, 17 were in African American patients and 17 were white. The remaining five were Asian or unknown.
The state is investigating additional deaths reported in COVID 19 patients but have not confirmed those fatalities yet.
There were lesser racial disparities in the infections. Whites represented almost half of all cases, while blacks represented a little more than a third,