Societies experience different challenges that touch on the social, political as well as economic aspects of life. The developments that happen in the society can be viewed and analyzed from different perspectives resulting in sociological theories and approaches. They have helped people understand the phenomenon happening in the surroundings, and the United States society is no exception. In contemporary times, the world is described as a global village where technology and innovation have made and increased people social status. It has shaped humanity and how they relate and address social challenges. Covid-19, for example, is a case that shows how the world as one social unit can be impacted by a social aspect (pandemic) and how different elements of the society react to it based on the social structures and settings that exist. However, this paper presents the relationship between social inequality and unequal outcomes with covid-19 for African-American race in the US society.
How Covid-19 Has Impacted African-American Race in the US
The challenges presented by Covid-19 continue to rise and be felt by the different racial groups in the US and other parts of the world (Guarner, 2020). It remains a pandemic that continues to spread, prompting enormous resources from individuals and organizations, including nation-states, to remain pro-active in finding solutions that can halt the pandemic. Therefore, the data related to Covid-19 impact to the African-American population is up to May 5, 2020. The history of the United States about the African-American race is primarily linked to the slave trade in the past. With the end of the slave trade, the social integration of the race in the US population happened mainly through civil struggles and liberties in society. However, most of the population was disadvantaged economically because most had limited income. Most were mainly labor providers in the factors of production that existed, such as plantations and manufacturing, among other aspects of production in the society, as also asserted by Long (2020) in her piece about Covid-19. The status had a direct impact on the societal norms and structures that mostly placed them at a disadvantage in terms of socio-economic status in the society. It has continued to determine their access to societal needs such as healthcare access, income, and political positions, among others. Most of the African-American populations, hence, fall in the low-income group in the US society. High poverty rates characterize it, difficulty in access to quality and affordable healthcare, quality education as well as limited income-earning opportunity, among others. The low-income status that most falls, thus, has presented quality healthcare access difficulty as well as encouraging unhealthy habits among the population such as eating, drinking, and smoking habits. It continues to make the population more vulnerable to health challenges, including Covid-19, where the African-American population continues to present the highest numbers in terms of deaths that result from Covid-19. According to data by APM Research, it shows that the mortality rate for African-Americans is 2.3 times higher when compared to that of Latinos and Asians, as well as 2.6 times higher when compared to that of Whites (Apmresearchlab.org, 2020). It is imperative to note that the black population is among the minority in the US but is leading in terms of deaths related to Covid-19 pandemic. It is a phenomenon that is mostly linked to the existing social inequality that has made the population more vulnerable and presents unequal outcomes with Covid-19. By May 4, the year 2020, 14 842 blacks had died compared to 2, 623 Asians, 8 991 Latinos, and 26,941 whites, according to data from APM Research (2020). Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Corona Virus Resource Center also presents figures that support the numbers. It shows that the black population in the US continues to post the highest number of deaths of Covid-19, and it further indicates that the morbidity is higher in the black population and, thus, hospitalization when the ratio is calculated and compared to other races. The hospitalization ratio of the black population is also higher when compared to other races in the US society (JHU, 2020).
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Analysis of both Individualistic and Structural Theories That Explain Unequal Results When Compared To Other Races in the US Noting the Strengths and Weakness of Both Approaches
Society relationship and phenomenon, as illustrated in the Covid-19 scenario in the different races in the US, can be explained and justified by different theories. They show how society relates and functions, such as the structural functionalism theory and individualistic theories. The theory sees society as a structure that has interrelated parts designed to meet social as well as biological needs. It notes how the different parts of the society work together to keep the society functioning. The social institutions created according to structural theories target to meet social needs such as healthcare access, education, and family, among others. The theory, thus, can explain the noted difference of the impact of covid-19 in the different races where the black race is the most affected because of the low-income status in the society. It, hence, can be argued that the society has to have the low-income earners and as well as the high-income earners. The low-income earners can provide labor and other essential services to the investors and high-income earners so that productivity can continue in the society to meet both the biological, economic as well as social needs. As a result, most of the African- American population in the US society is negatively impacted by Covid-19 due to the basic settings that exist in the society. It also explains how social institutions such as healthcare tries to meet the social needs of healthcare access to all to keep the society functioning. The main weakness of the structural theory, as noted, is it cannot explain social change that happens in the society adequately. There might be other factors that might contribute to the noted figures among the African-American population as the most negatively impacted by Covid-19 that the theory cannot adequately explain.
Individualistic theory, on the other hand, focuses on the individual and relates the societal challenge to traits portrayed by a person or group. It can view the black population, the most negatively impacted by Covid-19 results, as an individual group and argue that the black’s behavior and lifestyle makes them the most negatively impacted. It can say due to the eating, drinking, and smoking habits lifestyle of most African- American in the US, it has contributed significantly to the population being mostly negatively affected when compared to other races. The weakness of the individual theory is that it lacks macro-level appraisal that explains the societal developments when larger populations and groups are involved.
CDC as a Social Institution and Its Response to the Growing Health Crisis As Well As Its Efforts to Address the Unequal Results
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has been on the front line to address the Covid-19 health crisis in the US and the entire world. As a social institution that targets to meet the healthcare needs of the society, it has actively contributed to educating not only the black population that has experienced more deaths from Covid-19 but also other races. It is on the measures and approaches that the entire population can take, such as enhanced hygiene and cleanliness in the surroundings to control and contain the spread of Covid-19. It has also guided to keep people and community safe form Covid-19 as well as actively engaging and supporting research processes as also shared by Danzi et al. (2020). It targets to find the vaccine that would prove to be an essential step in addressing the health crisis effectively in the long-term. The CDC has, further, assisted living homes by providing medical services to those that lack supported older adults by providing public housing for low- to- moderate-income elderly adults, among many other actions (CDC, 2020).
In conclusion, Covid-19 continues to be a challenge in the society that all responsible stakeholders must work together to overcome the challenge in the future. African-American race in the US continues to be the most negatively impacted, as indicated in the ratio of deaths when compared to other races. The social inequality in the society has to be addressed so that the future generations cannot experience the same challenges as experienced presently. Different social institutions have to be supported to meet the social needs as manifested in the structural theories in the society.
References
Apmresearchlab.Org (2020). The color of Coronavirus: Covid-19 deaths by race and ethnicity in the U.S . Apmresearchlab.Org. https://www.apmresearchlab.org/covid/deaths-by-race
CDC. GOV, 2020. Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in Retirement Communities and Independent Living Facilities (Interim Guidance) . CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/retirement/guidance-retirement-response.html
Danzi,G.B., Loffi, M., Galeazzi, G. & Gherbesi, E. (2020) Acute pulmonary embolism and COVID-19 pneumonia: a random association?, European Heart Journal , , ehaa254, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehaa254
Guarner, J. (2020). Three Emerging Coronaviruses in Two Decades: The Story of SARS, MERS, and Now COVID-19. American Journal of Clinical Pathology , 153, (4), 420–421. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcp/aqaa029
Johns Hopkins University (JHU) (2020). Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center . Johns Hopkins University. https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
Long, H. (2020, May 8). The coronavirus economy is exposing how easy it is to fall from the middle class into poverty. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/05/08/layoffs-poverty-coronavirus/
