Think Out Loud

There are still a lot of unanswered questions about how COVID-19 is affecting communities of color in Oregon. The data we have shows that the state’s Hispanic population has been disproportionately represented in the numbers of confirmed cases of the virus. Nearly a third of the people who have tested positive in Oregon have been identified as Hispanic, but race and ethnicity data was unavailable in 10% of the reported cases, according to the Oregon Health Authority. Another 25% marked “other” in the race category. We dig into the data and what we know about health equity to try to better understand how the pandemic is playing out in Oregon. Multnomah County public health director Rachael Banks and state epidemiologist Dean Sidelinger join us.