Why is COVID-19 hitting
some communities harder than others?
And who exactly has been hit hardest?
We're seeing this happen across the country.
But to better understand the divide,
we zeroed in on two New York City boroughs:
The Bronx and Manhattan.
Even though Manhattan has more people,
The Bronx has more cases and more deaths.
We wanted to understand the reasons for this gap,
so we compared the boroughs based on three criteria:
why more people are getting infected,
being hospitalized, and dying from COVID-19.
And it's revealed this pandemic
is attacking two very different Americas.
Let's look at why there's a difference
in infection numbers between the two boroughs.
We'll start with income.
The Bronx is the poorest borough in the city,
with a median income of $38,000,
compared to Manhattan's $82,000.
Almost 60% of people in the Bronx
are paying more than they can afford for housing,
which has led to more multigenerational housing
in the Bronx and more residents in public housing
than any other borough.
For every apartment in the Bronx,
there are 2.8 people living in it.
Compare that to the two people living in
every apartment in Manhattan.
More people at home likely means more people get sick.
Overall, there's 350,000 more housing units
in Manhattan than the Bronx, and better-quality housing.
See this map?
Most residents in the Bronx
are dealing with maintenance problems,
like leaks, rats, cracks, plumbing, and broken toilets.
These issues alone make it more challenging
to live at home, not to mention having to
work from home because of COVID-19.
That is, if you can work from home.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics,
of those Americans making less than $33,000 a year,
which are these neighborhoods in the Bronx,
9% of people could work from home.
Whereas of those people making more than $79,000 a year,
all of these neighborhoods in Manhattan,
60% could work from home.
On the other hand, in the Bronx,
residents who can't work from home
are most likely out of a job and tight on money,
or they're essential workers.
Think grocery-store clerks, transit employees,
trash collectors, healthcare workers,
many of those people you see daily out on the front lines.
17% of frontline workers in New York City
are coming from the Bronx,
while just 12% are from Manhattan.
And for the majority of these essential workers,
getting to their job means taking the subway.
Subway ridership has dropped across the city,
but not by the same amount.
In Manhattan, 75% fewer people are riding,
but in the Bronx, ridership has dropped only 55%.
So trains to and from the Bronx can be packed,
especially with reduced subway services.
Plus, people from the Bronx face longer commutes
than people in Manhattan.
On average, 12.7 minutes longer
of standing body to body with that person
who's maybe coughing.
OK, let's move on to the second criterion.
Let's say someone in each borough does get the virus.
What will influence whether they become hospitalized?
The Bronx has had over 10,000 hospitalizations.
Manhattan? About 6,000.
Every year, New York counties are ranked
based on their health.
Last year, Manhattan was sixth best in the state.
The Bronx? Dead last, out of 62 counties.
This is based on things like access to clinical care,
the environment, and preexisting conditions.
The Bronx has higher rates of preexisting conditions
like asthma, heart disease, and obesity,
conditions that increase the risk of a severe COVID-19 case.
To explain why this is, we're gonna have to go deep.
We'll start with obesity rates between the two boroughs.
Studies have shown that poor diets
and lack of exercise are linked to obesity.
And in the Bronx, families facing money problems
or limited time are forced to turn
to cheaper, prepackaged foods.
87% of kids in the Bronx rely on
free or reduced school lunches,
which are packed with salt and fat.
Plus, the Bronx has almost double the amount
of food stamps per individual compared to Manhattan.
But the greatest contributor to diet, though, is access.
And the Bronx has historically had
some of the worst food deserts in the country,
where it's hard to find affordable
and healthy food close to home.
All of these factors have created a lack of
healthy resources for generations in the Bronx.
They lead to unhealthy eating habits
and high rates of obesity and diabetes,
both preexisting conditions that increase
your risk of death from COVID-19.
On the other hand, in Manhattan,
life expectancy and access to healthy food is much higher.
People not only have more access to grocery stores,
they also have more gyms to choose from.
Simply put, these things and disposable income
make it a lot easier to be healthier here.
Another preexisting condition that skyrockets
risk of COVID-19 hospitalization: asthma.
In big cities, studies have shown pollution
is a major cause of asthma.
Pollution is bad across New York City,
but the Bronx has the highest rates
of asthma-related emergency-room visits.
There's even a place nicknamed Asthma Alley
in the South Bronx.
It's surrounded by four highways
and sanitation and sewage facilities.
There's also a bunch of trucks coming and going
from all of these distribution centers,
these food wholesalers,
and the FreshDirect distribution center here
and the Wall Street Journal
and New York Post printing press here.
At last count, asthma hospitalizations
were 27 times higher in this area
than the rest of the city.
Bad asthma equals a higher risk
of being hospitalized with COVID-19
and needing a ventilator to help you breathe.
But it gets worse when you take into account
how accessible medical professionals are in these areas.
In Manhattan, there's one physician for every 750 people.
In the Bronx, there's one physician
for every 1,770 people.
There are also fewer hospital beds in the Bronx.
Manhattan has almost double the amount of hospitals
for only a 15% larger population.
That brings us to our third and final criterion.
Why are more people dying due to COVID-19 in the Bronx?
In Manhattan, four emergency hospitals
were constructed to combat coronavirus.
While the Bronx was promised one,
the borough hasn't gotten it yet.
Quality care also isn't as accessible in the Bronx.
On average, Manhattan hospitals
received three out of five stars.
Bronx hospitals received 1.2 out of five stars.
Jacobi Hospital in the Bronx is one of the five
worst-rated hospitals in the nation.
Add in the effect of preexisting conditions
we talked about earlier, and the Bronx has had
2,800 deaths of people with underlying conditions.
Manhattan? Almost 1,300.
Altogether, as of May 10,
Manhattan's death toll was 1,946,
while the Bronx hit 3,177 deaths.
And when you break down New York City's death toll,
people of color are two times
more likely to die of coronavirus.
In the Bronx, the population is 85% black or Hispanic.
Whereas in Manhattan, 64% of the population is white.
This is why you're seeing headlines
that a disproportionate number of people of color
are dying of COVID-19.
But these deaths go beyond coronavirus.
For the Bronx, cycles of income inequality,
food deserts, poor healthcare,
fewer hospitals, and crumbling housing
have harmed communities of color for generations.
And we see this pattern repeat itself again and again
with black and brown communities across the country.
Baltimore, Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, Los Angeles.
This disease is not the great equalizer.
Yes, anyone can get COVID-19.
But not everyone is as vulnerable to dying from it.
That has everything to do with the problems in place
long before this ever started.