UCLA releases COVID-19 data for Asian and Pacific Islander groups
Dr. Ninez Ponce releases data on specific questions on hate incidents, views on governments’ handling of the pandemic and financial challenges.

On the heels of President Biden’s executive order condemning and combating racism, xenophobia, and intolerance against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders related to COVID-19, the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research (CHPR) has released new data on its California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) Preliminary COVID-19 Estimates Dashboard that takes a closer look at the impact of the pandemic on Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. The estimates are pooled data from July 2020 through September 2020 and represent a subset of questions that were asked in the 2020 CHIS to these racial and ethnic groups only.
“We wanted to pull specific data to add to evidence from our advocacy partners on not only the negative health impact COVID-19 is having, but also get at some of the resulting social and behavioral impacts,” said Dr. Ninez Ponce, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health professor of health policy and management and director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
“Throughout the pandemic, CHIS efforts have been devoted to providing data on overlooked racial and ethnic groups, and we feel that it’s important to bring to light reported abuses, attacks, or unfair treatment, so that decision-makers can create the necessary policies to protect at-risk groups," said Ponce, who also serves as CHIS principal investigator. "According to the White House memorandum, an estimated 2 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have served on the front lines of this crisis as health care providers, first responders, and in other essential roles. President Biden’s executive order condemning xenophobic language and racism toward Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States during COVID-19 aligns with the data in our dashboard.”
Key findings include:
Hate incidents — 6.8% of Asian and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander adults reported directly experiencing a hate incident due to COVID-19 over the last 12 months. Of those who reported a hate incident, 63.7% reported a verbal abuse or attack and 22.4% reported cyberbullying.
1 in 4 (26%) Asian and Pacific Islander adults reported witnessing another Asian or Pacific Islander person being treated unfairly due to their race, ethnicity, or national origin.
Views on government during the pandemic — 51.5% agree or strongly agree that the city or local government has done a good job managing the COVID-19 outbreak; 21.9% disagree or strongly disagree.
On the other hand, only 18.8% agree or strongly agree that the national government has done a good job managing the COVID-19 outbreak; 63.3% disagree or strongly disagree.
Please check out our other tracking dashboards: COVID-19 Rates and Risk Factors by California County Dashboard, COVID-19 Rates and Risk Factors by California County Data Table, and the NHPI COVID-19 Data Policy Lab Dashboard, which include COVID-19 infection and death rates across racial and ethnic groups, as well as data across various health and socioeconomic factors.
By Elaiza Torralba
The UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, founded in 1961, is dedicated to enhancing the public's health by conducting innovative research, training future leaders and health professionals from diverse backgrounds, translating research into policy and practice, and serving our local communities and the communities of the nation and the world. The school has 631 students from 26 nations engaged in carrying out the vision of building healthy futures in greater Los Angeles, California, the nation and the world.
Faculty Referenced by this Article

Dr. Ron Andersen is the Wasserman Professor Emeritus in the UCLA Departments of Health Policy and Management.

Professor of Community Health Sciences & Health Policy and Management, and Associate Dean for Research
Nationally recognized health services researcher and sociomedical scientist with 25+ years' experience in effectiveness and implementation research.

EMPH Academic Program Director with expertise in healthcare marketing, finance, and reproductive health policy, teaching in the EMPH, MPH, MHA program

Dr. Michelle S. Keller is a health services researcher whose research focuses on the use and prescribing of high-risk medications.
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