MEDIA ADVISORY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 1, 2020                     

Media Contact: Amy Cloud, Public Information Officer

Phone: (360) 318 - 4356

E-mail address: WUC_JIC@co.whatcom.wa.us

Explanation of Change to COVID-19 Race and Ethnicity Data Reporting

Bellingham, WA - The method the Whatcom County Health Department uses for reporting data for confirmed COVID-19 cases by race and ethnicity, has been modified. With this change, “Hispanic” will no longer be categorized as an ethnicity, but as a race. Additionally, a multiracial (non-Hispanic) group has been added to better represent individuals who identify with more than one racial identity.

This change, summarized in the table below, is consistent with how the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) reports COVID-19 data related to race and ethnicity. 

The decision to modify how these data are reported was made to increase consistency between how the DOH reports these data, to improve the clarity of reported data, and to be more reflective of how individuals may self-identify racially. 

The addition of a multiracial grouping ensures that individuals are only represented once. Under the old methodology, if an individual identified with more than one race, they were represented in each racial group they selected, even though they only represented one case. Now, people who select multiple racial identities are included in the multiracial, non-Hispanic category.

Additionally, prior to the reporting change, a significant percentage of the “other race” category was made up of individuals who identified as Hispanic. Under the former reporting method the “other race” category accounted for 10% of COVID-19 cases in Whatcom County. With the new methodology, only 2% of COVID-19 cases in Whatcom County are attributed to the “other race” category. Under both the old and new methodology, approximately 30% of COVID-19 cases in Whatcom County are attributed to the Hispanic/Hispanic as race categories even though this group accounts for only 9% of the county population. 

Federal policy defines “Hispanic” as an ethnicity, not a race. However, based on census findings, standard U.S. racial categories may either be confusing or not provide relevant options for Hispanic people to describe their racial identity. Revising the methodology used to report demographic data for COVID-19 case rates in Whatcom County not only improves the clarity of the data reported, but it does so in a way that is more representative with how individuals identify racially and ethnically.

For more information about COVID-19, visit the Whatcom County Health Department website, the Whatcom Unified Command website, and the Washington State Department of Health website. 

This information is also available as a pdf. 

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