Which patients faced the highest COVID-19 hospitalization rates in 2020?

When COVID-19 first swept across the country, it didn't hit all communities equally. An analysis of hospitalizations from March through December 2020 found that in every region of the United States, Hispanic or Latino patients made up the highest proportion of people hospitalized with the virus. The gap between groups was largest during the summer months of May through July, and while it became less pronounced as the pandemic spread, it was still present by the end of the year in all regions. This is an observational snapshot of a specific time, so we don't have exact numbers on how large the differences were or what caused them. The data only covers 2020, so we can't say if this pattern continued in later years.