Will Smith asks Anthony Fauci why the coronavirus disproportionately affects African-Americans
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Will Smith got the chance to ask Dr. Anthony Fauci to explain why the coronavirus seems to be disproportionately affecting the African-American community.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to sweep the country, African-American communities are being demonstrably more affected by it, with numbers of infections in certain areas far outweighing the African-American population there. In Chicago, for example, black people make up 52 percent of the coronavirus cases and 72 percent of the deaths despite only making up 30 percent of the overall population.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}During his new Snapchat show "Will at Home," the celebrity sat down with the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases where he noted that the issues seem to have something to do with "disparities" in the health care system.
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Will Smith got the chance to ask Dr. Anthony Fauci why the coronavirus is affecting the African American community more. (AP)
"As is [in] all situations associated with the disparities in health in minorities, particularly the African-American communities... It’s really terrible, because it’s just one of the failings of our society, that African-Americans have a disproportionate prevalence in incidents of the very comorbid conditions that put you at a high risk," Fauci told Smith.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Among those conditions are hypertension, obesity, diabetes and asthma. Fauci explained that all of those factors could contribute to the African-American community being at a higher risk of developing more severe COVID-19 cases.
"If you get infected, you’re going to have a poor outcome," he said. "When it’s all over, [we need] to focus a bright shining light on what disparities in health mean."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In a separate clip for the show, Smith asked Fauci a few questions from children that are curious about what’s going on. People reports that some fans asked him tough questions, like when a vaccine will arrive and when things will get back to normal. Others, like 7-year-old Ava, had questions such as, "Can the tooth fairy still come if I lose my tooth?"
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"I’ve got to tell you Ava, I don’t think you have to worry about the tooth fairy," Fauci said. "So when your tooth falls out, you stick it under your pillow, and I guarantee you, that that tooth fairy is not going to get infected and is not going to get sick."