NNPA NEWSWIRE — Blacks in the U.S. have been disproportionately affected during the pandemic. Although African Americans only compose 6 percent of the population in the state of California, Blacks comprise 10.6 percent of the COVID-19 deaths. This has been attributed to the fact that a number of Blacks have underlying and sometimes untreated conditions — cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, etc. — which compound problems, when paired with the coronavirus.