I have not been wanting to weight in on the VIT D hypothesis & disproportionate black & brown deaths. Firstly bc I want to see the data. And we have little beyond speculation. And because this binary framing ‘it is racism or is there some other biological explanation’ is silly.

Do we not understand that causal factors are can be multiple & interactive?

Even if VIT D was a factor...which we have no trustworthy evidence it is, but even if is was... of course this would not rule out racism as a factor!

I understand why POC are pissed off at the mere mention of possible biological explanation. The distrust is valid & legitimate. They see the latest speculative exercise as an attempt at taking attention away from structural causes & racism. And this practice has a long history...

They are likely right. But I wanted to say don’t fall for this simplistic binary thinking. Few biological factors can be extracted from social structure & our environment, as a reminder. And in fact even the VIT D hypothesis could provide further evidence of racism...

VIT D deficiency is NOT an biological destiny for POC. Regardless of vulnerability! Do you really believe that if VIT D deficiency was an affliction more likely in white groups, white groups would be dying bc they lacked VIT D (again assuming VIT D was a factor)?

I do not think so. Racism also influences whose health needs get prioritised, where research money goes, how biological vulnerability... is or is not managed, what conditions are deemed ‘rare’.

My own experience re: VIT D* which I have previously written about, when my kids were born/small they were ‘followed’ medically in France, I had a pediatrician who was outraged children were not receiving VID D shots as infants. It was compulsory in France...

She was a white woman. She said to me, I can’t believe black children are being left without this, out of all children! With a good dose of French outrage.

I will never forget.
I was young. And did not quite understand structural racism, then.

It was only 10 years or so after this exchange I think VIT D became commonly offered to children in the U.K. I think.

France does not fare much better when it comes to medical racism of course...but just an example. And I could give you another about how sickle cell trait is (poorly) managed in the UK. I have also written about it...

...if we fail to manage conditions or medical vulnerabilities/risks in groups of ppl and those ppl happen to be black and brown, what do we call it? Yes, well* done. Racism. Medical racism which is racism at structural level.

So is VIT D part of the puzzle. I don’t know. It might. But I know what is for sure is, racism. Whichever way we look at it. And we don’t like that.