By Zack Haber

Data from a recent records request show that the Alameda County Coroner’s Bureau attributed 314 deaths in Oakland to the COVID-19 virus in 2021.

Some studies and reporting have suggested that available information on total COVID-19 deaths, especially when it relies on coroners, tend to be undercounts. Still, unlike data listed by the Alameda County Public Health Department, the coroner’s bureau recorded the race, gender, and age of Oaklanders who died of the virus, as well as the dates on which these deaths occurred.

The coroner’s data show Black people of all ages, along with Latinx people under 65, died at a rate disproportionately high when compared to their percentage of the population.

Of the 314 total Oakland residents the coroner’s bureau recorded as dying of COVID-19 in 2021, they listed 106 of them, or about 33.8%, as Black. This is a disproportionately high rate of deaths when compared to data from the 2020 census, which counted Black people as representing 23.8% of Oakland’s population.

Using the same two data sets, Latinx people accounted for 88, or about 28% of these deaths, while representing 27% of the population. White people accounted for 57, or about 18.2% of these deaths, while white people not also listed as Latinx represented about 28.3% of the population.

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Asian people made up 42, or about 13.3% of these deaths while representing 15.5% of the population. One Native American, along with three Pacific Islanders were listed as having died of COVID-19. Two people were listed as mixed race, while about 6.5% of the deaths had no race listed.

Like elsewhere in the country and around the world, older people died of COVID-19 in Oakland at a higher rate than younger people in 2021. Oakland residents younger than 40 made up eight, or about 2.5% of the total deaths recorded. Residents older than 90 made up 36, or about 11.5% of the total deaths. People 65 and older made up 213, or about 67.8% of the total deaths.

People under 65 represented a total of 101, or about 32.2%, of COVID deaths last year in Oakland. Latinx people accounted for about 45 of these deaths, a figure that is disproportionately high compared to their share of the population. Black people accounted for about 31 of these deaths, which is also disproportionately high. White people accounted for about eight of these deaths. Asian people accounted for about five of these deaths.

By the middle of April, everyone in California who was 16 and older was eligible to book an appointment to receive COVID-19 vaccines.

After this point, COVID deaths in Oakland declined dramatically. From May through December 2021, the coroner recorded 125 COVID deaths in Oakland. In comparison, January and February alone saw 157 deaths.

While deaths of all races declined, the proportion of COVID deaths of Black people compared to the rest of the population rose. Black people made up 57, or about 45.2% of the COVID deaths in 2021 from May through December. Latinx people made up 24, or 19.2% of these deaths. White people made up 20, or 16% of these deaths. Asian people made up 12, or 9.6% of these deaths.

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