Study suggests workplace exposure drives higher rate of COVID cases in Hispanics

A new study suggests exposure in the workplace and the overrepresentation of Hispanics on the frontlines may be two of the reasons why the COVID-19 death rate is higher for that community than in the white population.

​Maria Machado is one of the millions of Hispanics who worked through the pandemic. She worked at a nursing home in Durham, where she says, at first, her employer did not provide personal protective equipment.

She told WRAL News that she tested positive for COVID-19 in March. Her doctor told her, because she’s diabetic and has cancer, she should stay home for two weeks.

She says her boss told her she would be fired if she didn’t return to work in 7 days.

The study found that Hispanics between the ages of 30 and 69 died from COVID-19 at a higher rate than white people in the same age group. Hispanics accounted for almost 41% of age-adjusted deaths, even though they only make up about 19% of the age-adjusted population.

Machado says the kind of work Hispanics do hardly allows them to work from home. She says many face the choice of going to work while sick or losing their jobs.

Dr. Adam Wolk with Alignment Health Care works to get the COVID-19 vaccines to Hispanic communities. He says the fear is real, even when it comes to getting vaccinated.

He cited several reasons why LatinX people might be hesitant or unable to get a vaccine, including the inability to take time off work, childcare issues, language barriers and fears they’ll be asked about their immigration status.

Wolk said solving the coronavirus crisis in the Hispanic community is a very complex issue, one that doesn’t have a simple solution.