Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Minorities In US Face More Discrimination Due To COVID, Study Finds
ABC News: As Pandemic Endures, COVID-Associated Discrimination Toward Minorities Persists, Study Shows
Early in the coronavirus pandemic, there were countless examples of backlash against people of Asian descent in the United States, presumably because the virus is believed to have originated in China. But now, new evidence shows that implicit biases also may extend beyond people of Asian descent, with many apparently assuming people of color are more likely to be infected. (Adigun, 7/17)
Stat: A Yearslong Push To Remove Racist Bias From Kidney Testing Gains New Ground
For years, physicians and medical students, many of them Black, have warned that the most widely used kidney test — the results of which are based on race — is racist and dangerously inaccurate. Their appeals are gaining new traction, with a wave of petitions and papers calling renewed attention to the issue. (Gaffney, 7/17)
Stat: ‘We Have To Do A Better Job’: How Structural Racism In Medicine Harms Both Doctors And Patients
Early in her medical career, physician Rachel Issaka encountered a liver transplant patient who was surprised that she, a Black woman, was one of their treating physicians. All of the other physicians in the same room were white, but none said anything. (Feuerstein, Garde and Robbins, 7/17)
Also —
The Washington Post: Police Chokehold Bans: How George Floyd’s Killing Prompted Departments To Change
At least 26 of the nation’s 65 largest police departments have banned or strengthened restrictions on the use of neck restraints since the Memorial Day death of George Floyd after a Minneapolis police officer held his knee to Floyd’s neck for more than seven minutes, a Washington Post analysis shows. The swift response followed protests across the nation — sometimes on the steps of police departments’ headquarters — and were often announced in splashy news releases or at press conferences to quickly spread the word and reassure stressed communities. (Mellnik, Schaul and Kindy, 7/16)
