London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 23, 2025

US health Minister Azar lays part of blame for Covid-19 death toll on state of Americans' health

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Sunday suggested that the underlying health conditions of Americans, in particular in minority communities, contributed significantly to the death toll from the coronavirus.
"Unfortunately the American population is a very diverse ... It is a population with significant unhealthy comorbidities that do make many individuals in our communities, in particular African American, minority communities particularly at risk here because of significant underlying disease health disparities and disease comorbidities - and that is an unfortunate legacy in our health care system that we certainly do need to address," he told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union."

When Tapper pushed back, asking Azar if he was implying the reason so many Americans had died from Covid-19 was because they were "unhealthier than the rest of the world," Azar said no, that wasn't what he meant.

But the head of the HHS emphasized again that the US had a "significantly disproportionate burden of comorbidities ... (including) obesity, hypertension, diabetes," adding that "these are demonstrated facts that do make us at risk for any type of disease burden."

Earlier in the show, Tapper pointed out that the US death toll is approaching 90,000 from the disease. Azar later said the health of Americans was a contributing factor to that toll.

When Tapper asked Azar if he meant to suggest that the death toll from coronavirus was the fault of the American people, Azar explained "this is not about fault."

"Oh, no, Jake, please, please don't -- please don't distort -- no, this is not about fault. It's about simple -- simple epidemiology and stating that, if we have hypertension, if we have diabetes, we present with greater risk of severe complications from corona -- from this coronavirus," Azar responded. "That's -- that's all I was saying. And you know that," he said.

Azar continued, saying, "This is not -- one doesn't blame an individual for their health conditions. That would be -- that -- that -- that would be absurd. It's simply a statement that -- that we do have greater risk profiles here in the United States."

As of May 11, according to an analysis from the American Public Media (APM) Research Lab, 17,155 black Americans are known to have died due to Covid-19.

The approximately 17,000 known African American deaths is out of nearly 65,000 fatalities for which race and ethnicity data was available. More than 80,000 people in total had lost their lives to the coronavirus at the time of the analysis.

To put those numbers into context, African Americans make up about 13% of the population in those places but 27% of Covid-19 deaths for which race and ethnicity is known, APM research showed.

By contrast, about 62% of the population in places reporting race and ethnicity is white, but white residents make up 49% of Covid-19 deaths, the research showed. Hispanics or Latinos comprise about 18% of the population and 16% of deaths. Americans of Asian descent make up about 5% of the population and 5% of deaths.

APM compiled its data from the 39 states and the District of Columbia reporting the race and ethnicity of residents who have died of the virus.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×