A news report on a CBS17.com data analysis found that black people in North Carolina have accounted for a shrinking share of the total number of VOID-19 cases over the past few months. But while on the surface that seems like a positive development for a community hit disproportionately hard by the pandemic, experts say there are still plenty of reasons for concern.
“I hope it’s real,” said Crystal Cené, MD, associate professor in the division of general medicine and clinical epidemiology in the CBS17 article. “But I’m a little skeptical.”
The news story compares cases by race, ethnicity, age and gender, with perspective from leading experts.
Cené says it’s possible the drop in cases could reflect a reduction in tests, though there isn’t any available data to support the assertion. While the state has averaged more than 55,000 tests processed per day in January, DHHS does not issue a demographic breakdown of those who are being tested.
“That was the main thing that I thought about was, ‘Wait a minute, is this just because there’s been less testing among the group, among Blacks over that corresponding time period?’” Cené said in the article. “But I can’t verify that that is actually the case, because given that we haven’t really seen the same trend in hospitalizations or deaths, it would make me think that it’s a testing issue.”
Read the entire story on CBS17.com.