New Research by Foster, Pharris-Ciurej, and Colleagues Finds Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Excess Mortality During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Posted: 3/21/2024 (CSDE Research)

CSDE and UW alumni Nikolas Pharris-Ciurej and Thomas B. Foster released an article with Census Bureau colleagues in Demography, titled “Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Excess All-Cause Mortality in the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic“. Their findings were also featured in the U.S. Census’ series America Counts: Stories Behind the Numbers. An additional 573,000 people died in the United States during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic but “excess mortality” at the national level masks substantial variations by state, age, sex, and race and ethnicity. “Excess mortality” refers to deaths from any cause above what is expected from recent mortality trends. This research shows the pandemic widened the mortality gap between the nation’s Black and White populations and completely erased the mortality advantage of the Hispanic population in relation to the non-Hispanic White population.