Virus Infections Rapidly Increasing In Latino Populations, Outpacing Other Racial And Ethnic Minorities
“For both the African American and Latino populations there's a triple threat,” said Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the CDC. “The first is that there's more exposure, the second is that there's more underlying health problems sometimes, and the third is there's less access to health care.” Meanwhile, experts in the Trump administration remain largely quiet on the disparities being seen in the pandemic.
Politico:
'So Much Worse Than I Ever Thought It Would Be': Virus Cases Skyrocketing Among Latinos
Coronavirus infections have rapidly increased among Latinos in the past two months, outpacing other racial and ethnic minorities. Latinos make up a disproportionate share of the cases in nearly every state, and are more than four times higher than their share of the population in some states. That’s raising alarms for doctors and public health officials as they see hospitalizations on the rise. The doctors "had never seen such a large number of people who speak Spanish in the intensive care unit,” said Dr. Viviana Martinez-Bianchi, a Duke professor and physician who has tracked hospitalizations of Latino patients in Durham County, N.C. Although they were young to middle-aged — a group that is not usually at high risk for serious illness, many patients were very ill and had delayed seeking help, she said. (Barron-Lopez, 6/18)
The Associated Press:
COVID-19 Is Ravaging America's Vulnerable Latino Communities
A Hispanic immigrant working at a fast-food restaurant in North Carolina is rushed to the hospital after she contracts COVID-19. A sickened Honduran woman in Baltimore with no health insurance or immigration status avoids the doctor for two weeks and finally takes a cab to the hospital and ends up on oxygen. As the coronavirus spreads deeper across America, it’s ravaging Latino communities from the suburbs of the nation’s capital to the farm fields of Florida to the sprawling suburbs of Phoenix and countless areas in between. (Cano, Snow and Anderson, 6/19)
NBC News:
The Rise Of Coronavirus Cases In Los Angeles Puts Latinos At Disproportionate Risk, Experts Say
California is among the more than a dozen states that have seen a rise in coronavirus cases as cities continue to reopen amid the pandemic. Medical professionals like Dr. Don García in Los Angeles are sounding the alarm over one group in particular — the disproportionate number of Latinos who have contracted the disease. (Acevedo, 6/19)
ABC News:
Latinos Shoulder Disproportionate Coronavirus Cases: CDC Data
Under the scorching Florida sun, Adriana Enrique picks fresh fruit and vegetables every day. Bearing the responsibility of being the only provider for her family and being deemed by the federal government as “essential," Enrique is among a demographic that new data suggests is bearing a disproportionate share of coronavirus cases. (Romero, 6/19)
Stat:
Amid Covid-19, Federal Minority Health Experts Are Conspicuously Silent
Four months into a pandemic that has disproportionately devastated Black, Latino, and Native American communities, leading minority health experts within the Trump administration remain conspicuously quiet and have conducted minimal outreach to communities of color. The directors of two federal minority health offices, as well as the government’s $336 million health disparities research institute, have not conducted TV or radio interviews since the pandemic began in early 2020. None has testified before Congress, or appeared at a White House coronavirus task force meeting or public press briefing. (Facher, 6/22)
The Washington Post:
Eight Ways To Reduce The Pandemic’s Outsize Impact On People Of Color
In recent weeks, there has been increased recognition of the profound health disparities unmasked by covid-19. A new Brookings Institution report finds that in some age groups, death rates for African Americans and Hispanic Americans are as much as six times higher than for white people. Policymakers are rightly discussing the complexity of the overlapping crises of racism and covid-19, but we don’t have time to wait. Here are eight concrete steps we can take now to reduce the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on people of color. (Leana S. Wen, 6/19)
And in other news —
The Washington Post:
Asians And Latinos Embrace George Floyd Protests Over Parents' Objections
The argument began as soon as Charlie Mai and his brother, Henry, announced their plans to attend a Black Lives Matter protest that evening in D.C. Their father was not having it. Glenn Mai, a retired FBI agent, had been raised in Dallas by Chinese immigrants who had taught him that he would succeed if he just worked hard. “Chinese culture is very much about working within the system,” Glenn, 54, said, and during decades in law enforcement, he’d come to believe the system worked. (Trent, 6/21)
WBUR:
Inside Boston Hospitals, A Reckoning With Racism
As calls for racial justice continue on Boston streets, conversations have shifted to what’s next. That’s true inside hospitals as well, where the life-long effects of racism play out every day. (Bebinger, 6/19)
Crain's Chicago Business:
36 Chicago-Area Hospitals Name Racism A 'Public Health Crisis'
Chicago's largest hospitals and clinics officially named racism a public health crisis today. In an open letter—coincidentally shared on Juneteenth, a holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S.—36 organizations committed to improving health equity across the city. In addition to supporting programs that help people of color find healthcare jobs, each organization is pledging to provide anti-racism training for staff and create new policies that promote equity, among other commitments. (Goldberg, 6/21)
ABC News:
There Are No Black Doctors In Congress. A Candidate In Virginia Hopes To Change That.
In the weeks before the competitive Democratic primary in Virginia's 5th Congressional District, candidate Cameron Webb wasn't sleeping much. "I'm in the four to five-hour range," he said in a phone interview. But it wasn't nerves. It was the week of night shifts he'd just wrapped up at the hospital. (Haslett, 6/20)
