HARRISBURG (TNS) — More than race or ethnicity, poverty has been the single biggest factor in who lived and who died from COVID-19. That’s according to a recently released report from the Poor People’s Campaign that its co-chair, the Rev. Dr. William Barber, described as shocking.

The Rev. Dr. Barber is so disturbed at the findings detailed in “A Poor People’s Pandemic Report,” he’s organizing a moral march on Washington on June 18 to make sure the nation does not ignore the tragedy that has devastated the lives of thousands of Americans.

The facts are grim. Almost one million Americans have died from COVID-19, the report estimates. It not only documents the number of deaths, but it provides an up-close and personal look at who died and where they lived.

The research has found a clear connection to income and wealth, including in Pennsylvania.

To put it bluntly, the study shows, if you were among the low or no-wage people in the United States when COVID hit two years ago, your chances of dying from the pandemic were up to five times greater than someone with more money. That includes thousands of poor white Americans.

“COVID-19 did not discriminate,” The Rev. Dr. William Barber, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign said at Monday’s press conference in Washington D.C. “But we did.” And money was at the root of this evil.

But let’s be honest. A large percentage of poor counties in this country are home to Black, Brown and Indigenous Americans. Twice as many Black people live in the poorest counties where COVID killed the most, and one quarter of their population is Hispanic.

The data also shows white Americans make up more than one-half of the populations in the poorest counties in the country. Poor people, including those in every Pennsylvania county, suffered the most from COVID-19, no matter the race.

You can study it all in the data on their website that has specific information for every county in the commonwealth, many with thousands of people struggling to survive.

Poor people couldn’t hunker down in their nice homes and Zoom to work. They suffered the biggest job losses and endured the most tragedy and death from COVID-19.

Think about it. Who were the people who had to go to work? Who were the people who didn’t have the coveted PPE or even a decent mask early in the pandemic?

Who were the people working in the warehouses with poor ventilation, packing into the busses and metros? Who were the people coughing and sneezing at work because they had no such thing as sick leave?

While the privileged complained of not being able to go into the office to smooze with co-workers and enjoy long brainstorming lunch breaks, millions of minimum wage people didn’t have that option. Worse yet, they were caught up in the misinformation and downright lies that kept thousands from getting vaccinated, wearing masks, and protecting themselves and their loved ones.

A Poor People’s Pandemic Report offers a snapshot of the poorest counties impacted, including those in Pennsylvania, as well as the people hurt. They are people like Fred Womack of Jackson, Mississippi, who lost more than 20 family members, and most didn’t have burial insurance.

They are people like Jessica Jimenez of the Bronx who was terrified as her little sister worked long hours in a hospital and caught COVID three times. Her father suffered significant emotional turmoil as he lost friend after friend during the pandemic.

And they are people like Bruce Grau of Wausau, Wis., whose town of 39,000 includes half living in poverty. His county’s rate of hospitalization and COVID deaths often led the state. In the first six months of the pandemic, 15 of 18 of people who caught COVID in one nursing home died — alone, without their families and penniless

The Rev. Dr. Barber is right; there should be moral outrage at how much money mattered during the worst days of COVID-19. He’s asking for a meeting with President Joe Biden when they march to Washington in June, and he should get it.

But the meeting should be more than a photo-op. The president and every American should hear what the Poor People’s Campaign says will help millions of Americans cope with crises like COVID-19 — universal health care and a life-sustaining minimum wage.

We could add one other thing — politicians should stop lying about science and health. They’re killing their own voters.

(Joyce M. Davis is PennLive’s outreach and opinion editor.)