Indigenous Americans worse hit by COVID-19: CDC report

Alaska Natives getting ready in advance of a ceremony in honour of the arrival of Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham in Toksook Bay, Alaska [AP Photo/Gregory Bull]
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The data also showed that those testing positive for the coronavirus tended to be younger than white non-Hispanic people with COVID-19. The researchers found that 12.9 percent of infections among Native Americans or Alaska Natives were in people under age 18, compared with 4.3 percent among non-Hispanic whites.

The CDC said it has provided $200m in funding to support tribes and tribal organisations in carrying out COVID-19 preparedness and response activities [Graeme Jennings/Pool via Reuters]

The study added to a growing body of evidence that long-standing health and social inequities have resulted in an increased risk for infection and death from COVID-19 among Native American and Alaska Native populations, the CDC researchers said.

Other factors such as reliance on shared transportation, limited access to running water and household size could increase the risk of virus transmission, the researchers added.

"American Indian and Alaska Native people have suffered a disproportionate burden of COVID-19 illness during the pandemic," CDC Director Robert Redfield said in a statement.

The CDC said it has provided $200m in funding to support tribes and tribal organisations in carrying out COVID-19 preparedness and response activities.