Disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on immigrant communities in the United States

Abstract

In early 2020, a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) began to trickle through global communities, resulting in a pandemic of proportions not seen since 1918. In the US, while the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, initially affected international travelers and their close contacts, it is now ravaging many disadvantaged communities. As in past pandemics, social and economic determinants will strongly influence susceptibility to and health outcomes of COVID-19; thus, it is predictable that low-income and vulnerable US populations will be disproportionately affected. Certain "hot spots" have already demonstrated high rates of COVID-19-related mortality in minority populations, particularly those of impoverished communities, likely due to increased prevalence of comorbid conditions as a result of unequal socioeconomic factors and inadequate access to timely healthcare [1-5]. We can anticipate similar outcomes in other vulnerable populations, particularly in immigrant communities, which have similar socioeconomic status and rates of comorbidities. With over 46.7 million immigrants currently living in the US, of which 11 million are undocumented [6], a socioeconomic perspective of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic within the US immigrant community is necessary. Here, we will focus on the potential impact of COVID-19 on immigrant communities in the US, particularly those in Texas.