San Francisco, Feb 27 (IANS): Data shows that Covid-19 affects people of colour at much higher rates and Google has doubled down on its efforts to address the compounding racial and social inequities of this pandemic.

According to Jacquelline Fuller, President, google.org, the company is committing $5 million in grants to organisations addressing racial and geographic disparities in Covid-19 vaccinations.

"About 71 per cent of Black Americans and 61 per cent of Hispanic Americans know someone who has died or been hospitalised from the virus compared to 48 per cent of white Americans," Fuller said in a statement on Friday.

Data also shows that Black Americans are getting vaccinated at lower rates than their peers.

"At Google.org, we aim to bring the best of Google to support underserved communities," she said.

Google has already made a $100 million grant and 50,000 pro bono hour commitment to support Covid-19 relief.

Reports have shown that 41 per cent of Black-owned businesses — about 440,000 businesses — have shuttered due to Covid-19 compared to 17 per cent of businesses owned by white people.

"To support minority business owners through the pandemic, we've supported Common Future with grant funding to provide capital and technical assistance to 2,000 women and minority small-business entrepreneurs in the US," Fuller informed.