Inequities in Boston

Preliminary data from the Harvard School of Public Health has correlated long-term exposure to particulate matter air pollution to a higher rate of death from COVID-19. And a 2003 study about SARS — caused by a similar coronavirus — found that patients from areas with heavy air pollution were twice as likely to die as those from regions with low pollution.

A new analysis from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) finds that people of color in the Greater Boston area are more likely to live near a major roadway that exposes them to high levels of vehicular air pollution.The findings are especially relevant now, since air pollution can cause or exacerbate the underlying health issues that increase the likelihood of dying from COVID-19.

“COVID-19’s Unequal Effects in Massachusetts" outlines environmental factors that compound the COVID-19 pandemic’s disparate impact on communities of color in Massachusetts, and outlines steps the state should take to address the longstanding impact of environmental injustice on families, including investing in clean energy jobs, strengthening regulatory procedures to protect vulnerable communities, and fighting rollbacks of federal environmental protection laws. Office of Attorney General Maura Healey

Zoe Greenberg, Boston Globe, Updated April 29, 2020

Iván Espinoza-Madrigal and Lauren Sampson, Bay State Banner, April 2020

Victoria Paykar, April 30, 2020

Jessica Colarossi, Boston University, April 22, 2020

MGH Institute of Health Professions July 01, 2020