Here in Ohio, black residents make up about 13% of the population, yet, as of April 13, represent 19% of the diagnosed cases of COVID-19. Other states like Michigan, Illinois, and Louisiana have reported up to triple digit staggering disparities, especially in COVID-19 related deaths. The Navaho Nation in Utah is especially impacted with the negative outcomes of the Coronavirus. These recent reports are showing how the COVID-19 pandemic plays out along racial lines, continuing to deprive communities of color and indigenous people of physical, mental, and emotional safety.
Why is this happening to indigenous and minority communities at higher rates?
The answer rests in the tragedies of the past and present, and access to high quality health care today. Historical traumas like intergenerational displacement, exploitation, violated treaties, violence, mass incarceration, housing discrimination, and economic disinvestment have led to toxic environmental and physical stress which directly contribute to diseases like heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and lung disease. These pre-existing chronic conditions place minorities at higher risks of contracting and dying from COVID-19.
For all of the guidance that has been released in the name of slowing the spread of COVID-19, at the outset, it was never acknowledged that a majority of these action steps reflect privilege. The ability to protect oneself and adhere to the guidance by public health officials is a reach for many concentrated in economically vulnerable neighborhoods and reservations. Nutrient dense food is limited; the income to purchase and store food and supplies is limited; and for housing insecure households, those with limited internet access, or those without the health care centers or other important information distribution organizations (such as libraries), access to life saving information is limited.
Now, we must move beyond merely calling out these inequities. It is well-known in the public health field that social determinants of health have an outsized influence on health outcomes. For YWCA Hamilton, an organization committed to eliminating racism and empowering women, we believe that as a community, we must see with renewed conviction why declaring racism as a public health issue is the long- term policy response that can outlast this particular moment, redress the wrongs of the past, and shepherd us into a healthier, more equitable future.
Because our nation’s legacy of discrimination and preserved structural racism perpetuates racial disparities, actions must be targeted to address the specific needs of communities of color and indigenous peoples as we fight to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Here are a few things we can do to help:
• Submit requests for COVID-19 hotlines to collect more comprehensive data, requiring data about race and ethnicity and tribal nation impacts to be recorded, and increase transparency of disparities when reporting out. Government should release racial and ethnic breakdowns of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths by county, ZIP code and Census tract.
• Advocate for equitable access to testing and treatment, such as locating testing centers in predominantly black neighborhoods, or providing free, safe transportation to and from testing and treatment, and access to community-based primary care physicians.
• Add racial and ethnic and tribal nation impacts to the list of prioritized testing qualifiers to better test and treat high-risk populations and provide free health care for those who test positive.
• Support efforts for high-volume subsidized housing buildings who work with local health providers to disseminate important information to residents and create onsite clinic hours to ensure mobility-restricted residents have access to medical care.
o This has been one of the major efforts in our YWCA Hamilton building locally. We have worked directly with providers to increase access to information that will help our residents avoid infection and increase physical and mental health.
We believe the racial disparities in COVID-19 infections and deaths are unacceptable. We are proud to partner with the City of Hamilton and the Butler County Health Department as they work to create a more equitable community for all our residents. We ask you to join us in a long term sustained effort to identify racism as a public health crisis and implement policy to provide healthcare equity.
Wendy Waters-Connell is CEO of YWCA Hamilton
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