Racial Disparities in HIV and COVID-19

This map details HIV prevalence for the eight priority counties. The relative size of the COVID-19 outbreak for each county is represented by the blue circular markers. To view HIV and COVID-19 case rates per 100,000 population for each county, hover over the circle markers. Click on the markers for HIV and COVID-19 race/ethnicity graphs.

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Eight Priority California Counties under the Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) Plan for America

Reported data as of June 15, 2022.

In its first phase, the federal Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America (EHE) focuses on eight priority counties in California: Alameda, Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, and San Francisco. COVID-19 has added to the burden of addressing the HIV epidemic, including the diversion of staff, services, and resources.1

The above map details HIV prevalence for the eight priority counties. The relative size of the COVID-19 outbreak for each county is represented by the blue circular markers. To view HIV and COVID-19 case rates per 100,000 population for each county, hover over the circle markers. Click on the markers for HIV and COVID-19 race/ethnicity graphs.

In the United States, the rate of people living with HIV (PLWH) in 2020 was 379.7 per 100,000 population. In California, the rate was slightly higher at 406 per 100,000. As of June 27, 2022, in California, the rate of total COVID-19 cases was 25,336 per 100,000, compared to 26,162 per 100,000 for the US. Case rates for the past 7 days are 328 and 212.3 per 100,000 for California and the US respectively.2 Both HIV and COVID-19 have a disproportionate impact on racial and ethnic minority populations.3 For each EHE priority county, we note the racial/ethnic composition of each county, the racial/ethnic composition of people living with HIV, and the racial/ethnic composition of people whose deaths resulted from COVID-19.4,5 To view and compare race/ethnicity data, click on the blue markers on the map above.6 It should be noted that COVID-19 deaths are being used in the above comparison because data on the race/ethnicity of people diagnosed with COVID-19 are incomplete.

Endnotes:
  1.  See the CHPRC COVID-19 Organizational Health Surveys for 2020 and 2021.
  2. Data for HIV rates are for the latest available year 2020 and taken from the CDC Atlas Plus database. COVID-19 case rates for the past 7 days at the national, state, and county levels are from the CDC COVID-19 Data Tracker.
  3. COVID-19 disparities appear more prominently using age-adjusted case or death rates by race/ethnicity. We omit them here because, of the eight EHE counties, at this time, Los Angeles County remains the only county making age-adjusted rates by race/ethnicity available. There is no indication that rate data by race/ethnicity presented by Alameda, Riverside, Sacramento, San Diego, and San Francisco Counties are age-adjusted. San Bernardino and Orange Counties report neither crude nor adjusted rates.
  4. County-level race/ethnicity data for people living with HIV (PLWH) are from 2020 and taken from CDC Atlas Plus. Data on the number of COVID-19 deaths are taken from each county’s respective COVID-19 webpages or dashboards. The population bars labeled “Other/Multi/Unknown” correspond to the percentage of the county population classified as multiracial. With respect to the number of PLWH and COVID-19 deaths, the “Other/Multi/Unknown” label includes persons classified other or multiracial and all persons of unknown or unreported race. The bars labeled “AI/AN” and “NH/OPI” refer to American Indian/Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander respectively.
  5. County population statistics are 2018 estimates from the California Department of Finance, Demographic Research Unit.
  6. Unlike the other counties, San Bernardino reports COVID-19 data separately for race and ethnicity. Its COVID-19 statistics by ethnicity indicate whether individuals identify as Latino or not. Its COVID-19 statistics by race exclude the Hispanic/Latino category and presume that Hispanic/Latino individuals may be of any race (i.e., Asian, Black, White, Multiracial).
  7. COVID-19 county data are those reported as of 6/15/22.
  8. For any feedback regarding data presented, please contact us at chprc@luskin.ucla.edu.
The California HIV/AIDS Policy Research Centers is funded by the California HIV/AIDS Research Program
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