More than one-third of adult population knows someone killed by the coronavirus Even before the latest wave of the coronavirus pandemic, driven by the highly contagious Delta variant, nearly 97 million U.S adults reported knowing someone killed by COVID-19. Roughly the same number of people reported that they or another imme- diate family member had caught the virus. Those estimates are based on a SHADAC COVID-19 survey, conducted as part of the AmeriSpeak omnibus survey by NORC at the University of Chicago, in April 2021. An estimated one-third of the U.S. adult population reported a COVID-19 infection occurring in their immediate family, and about one-third also reported knowing someone who died of the virus. However, there were few statistically significant differences across demographic subgroups. The main exceptions were by race and ethnicity, with Black and Hispanic adults significantly more likely to report knowing someone who died from COVID-19 than White adults, and Hispanic adults significantly more likely to report a COVID-19 infection within their immediate families. Almost 40 percent of U.S. adults knew someone who died of COVID-19 In April 2021, 37.7 percent of U.S. adults reported that they knew someone who had died of COVID-19. Across demographic sub- groups, Black and Hispanic people reported higher rates of knowing someone who died of COVID-19 than did White people, but these were the only groups that differed significantly. Figure 1. Know someone who died of COVID-19, April 2021 Among Black adults, 56.9 percent reported knowing someone who died of COVID-19, while Race/Ethnicity 48.2 percent of Hispanic adults reported the ai same. Both rates were significantly higher than Black BRD the 31.8 percent rate reported by White adults. yl Ce The rate of people identifying as any other race or multiple races, 33.6 percent, was not signifi- cantly different from the rate reported by White adults." Across age, income, and education categories, . U.S. adults reported similar rates of knowing Education Level someone who died of COVID-19. While an Ged apparently larger percentage of those age 65 (Baas CIEE TITRE CC years and older reported knowing some who MARCI ESS died of COVID, neither they nor any other of these subgroups reported rates that differed significantly from the total adult population rate of 37.7 percent. Income Level $100k or more $60k-$99,999 SSSR) * Statistically significant difference from total rate at 95% level. + Statistically significant difference from reference group (Race=White; Age=65+; Education=bachelor's degree or higher; Income=$100k or more) rate at 95% level. Source: SHADAC analysis of SHADAC COVID-19 Survey, conducted as part of the AmeriSpeak omnibus survey by NORC at the University of Chicago in April 2021. Visit the SHADAC blog for more COVID-19 resources. COVID-19 illness personally affected nearly 97 million U.S. adults Almost 40 percent got COVID-19 or had an immediate family member with COVID-19 In the same survey, 37.6 percent of U.S. adults reported that they had caught COVID-19 themselves or had an immediate family member who caught the virus. Across demographic sub-groups, Hispanic people reported higher rates of personally catching COVID-19 or having an immediate family member who did, and adults with some college or an associate's degree also reported higher rates, but these were the only groups that differed significantly. About half of Hispanicadultssaidtheyoran _ Figure 2. Respondent or immediate family member contracted immediate family member had COVID-19 COVID-19, April 2021 Among Hispanic adults, 51.5 percent reported that they or an immediate family member con- tracted COVID-19, which was significantly higher than the rate of 35.6 percent reported by White Race/Ethnicity adults. The rate of Black adults (35.8 percent) and Wn people identifying as any other race or multiple Pes races (28.6 percent) were not significantly differ- ets Be ent from the rate reported by White adults. IAA CPT Adults with some college or associate's degree more likely to report they or an immediate family member had COVID-19 Among adults with some college or an associ- ate's degree, 44.0 percent reported that they or an immediate family member contracted COVID- 19, which was significantly higher than the rate of 31.2 percent reported by adults with a bach- _- Education Level elor's degree or higher. The rate among adults aa ane Mita with a high school diploma or less education Some college or associate's degree UR (38.7 percent) was not significantly different from Ay ed as adults with a bachelor's degree. Income Level $100k or more $60k-$99,999 Adults reported similar rates across age, income categories Across age and income categories, U.S. adults reported similar rates of either having COVID- 19 themselves or knowing an immediate family member who did. No subgroups in either cate- * Statistically significant difference from total rate at 95% level. + Statistically significant difference from reference group (Race=White; Age=65+; Education=bachelor's degree or higher; gory reported rates that differed significantly from -_income=$100k or more) rate at 95% level. j Source: SHADAC analysis of SHADAC COVID-19 Survey, conducted as part of the AmeriSpeak omnibus survey by NORC at the the total adult population rate of 37.6 percent. University of Chicago in April 2021, $30k-$59,999 $29,999 or less Conclusion Overall, the SHADAC COVID-19 survey found that demographic subgroups within the U.S. adult population reported similar rates of having COVID-19 infections within their immediate families and knowing someone who died of the virus. Among the few sta- tistically significant differences that were uncovered by this analysis, Black and Hispanic adults were more likely to report knowing someone who died from COVID-19 than White adults, and Hispanic adults were more likely to report a COVID-19 infection within their immediate families-a pattern that is consistent with other data showing the pandemic has imposed disparities of illness and death on those communities."3 This report reinforces the importance of pursuing health equity in vaccination campaigns and other public health measures to prevent marginalized groups from continuing to suffer disproportionate burdens from this and any potential future pandemics. Visit the SHADAC blog for more COVID-19 resources. COVID-19 illness personally affected nearly 97 million U.S. adults 1 Due to sample size limitations of the AmeriSpeak survey, we were unable to produce standalone estimates for certain racial and ethnic groups, such as American Indians and Alaska Native people and Asian people. We included these individuals in the category for individuals reporting "any other race or multiple races." 2 Romano, S.D., Blackstock, A.J., Taylor, E.V., El Burai Felix, S., Adjei, S., Singleton, C., Fuld, J., Bruce, B.B., Boehmer, T.K. (2021, April 16). Trends in racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 hospitalizations, by region - United States, March-December 2020. MMWR, 70(15), 560-565. https://www.cde.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/pdfs/mm7015e2-H.pdf 3 National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), Division of Viral Diseases. (2020, December 10). Disparities in deaths from COVID-19: Racial and ethnic health disparities. U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). https://www.cdc.gov/coronavi- Visit the SHADAC blog for more COVID-19 resources.