Surgeon General Says African-Americans Are at ‘Higher Risk’ for COVID-19

U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams speaks during a White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing at the White House in Washington on April 3, 2020. Win McNamee/Getty Images

Surgeon General Jerome Adams said African-Americans are at a higher risk of the CCP virus after data revealing a disparity in cases and deaths has begun to emerge.

“I and many black Americans are at higher risk for COVID,” Adams told ”CBS This Morning“ on Tuesday. ”That’s why we need everyone to do their part to slow the spread.”

Adams noted in the interview that black Americans are more likely to have underlying health problems and a lack of access to health care. Adams said he himself has heart disease, asthma, high blood pressure, and is pre-diabetic.

Adams said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) “should be, and are tracking this virus by different demographic groups.”

“When you look at being black in America, number one: people unfortunately are more likely to be of low socioeconomic status, which makes it harder to social distance,” Adams said in the interview. “Number two: we know that blacks are more likely to have diabetes, heart disease, lung disease.”

For example, Louisiana’s Department of Health released its figures for COVID-19 cases, showing black people account for 70 percent of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus deaths in the state, although making up 32 percent of the population.

“That deserves more attention, and we’re going to have to dig into that and see what we can do to slow that trend down,” Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said on Monday.

Healthcare workers wheel the bodies of deceased people from the Wyckoff Heights Medical Center during the outbreak of COVID-19 in New York City, New York, on April 4, 2020. Reuters/Andrew Kelly

“The data already released shows troubling trends for African Americans that must be addressed to ensure public health,” said Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust, reported The Hill.

But in another morning interview, the surgeon general said that CCP virus deaths in the United States could fall under the range of between 100,000 and 200,000 that has been suggested by White House officials in recent days.

“That’s absolutely my expectation, and I feel a lot more optimistic, again, because I’m seeing mitigation work,” Adams said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “It’s going to be a hard and a tough week, but the American people have the power to change the trajectory of this epidemic if we come together like we have after past tragedies in this country.”

Over the weekend, he predicted the COVID-19 case number next week will be America’s “Pearl Harbor moment” and “our 9/11 moment.”