Poll Shows 24 Percent of Latina Women Have Lost Family Member to COVID
Amid a pandemic that has disproportionately affected people of color, roughly one in four Latina women in the U.S. have reported losing a family member to COVID-19, according to a new poll from Newsweek. The survey, conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of a group of reproductive rights organizations, found that that more than 7-in-10 women of color have been impacted by COVID-19 and 1-in-4 had a family member die from the virus. Latina women were at least 5 percent more likely to become sick or have a family member become sick with COVID-19 than other women of color, including Black women and Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) women. Nearly 80 percent of Latina women reported feeling personally affected by the pandemic, whether through becoming ill, losing a family member, losing a job, being evicted, or struggling to make payments. Latina women (37 percent) also reported facing mental health difficulties throughout the pandemic, compared to 29 percent of Black women and 34 percent of AAPI women. The survey also showed that overall, women of color believe the government should be providing financial support to families and businesses to support recovery.