San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff announced the addition of Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio, to the COVID-19 Health Transition Team, which is working on a plan to slowly reopen the city economy after social distancing. Nirenberg and Wolff wrote a joint memo that stay-at-home rules have saved lives. Yet they acknowledge social distancing isn't permanent. "Our community needs a local strategy to reenter into everyday life," Nirenberg and Wolff wrote. "These decisions have critical implications on our community – including our ability to avoid subsequent outbreaks, ensure we protect our most vulnerable populations, especially those in high-risk professions, and to identify parameters for transitioning ...
COVID-19 can affect anyone. But, for Latinos, the coronavirus pandemic is worsening health, social, and income inequities, and raising fears of disparities in disease rates, exposure, testing, and prevention. Here is our infographic in English and Spanish on eight of the biggest coronavirus issues facing Latinos:
1. COVID-19 Rates and Latinos
Early reports from hotbed areas, including New York City and Oregon, show higher COVID-19 incidence and death rates among Latinos. In other cities, African Americans show higher rates. RATES
2. COVID-19 Testing and Latinos
People with health insurance get tested for COVID-19 more frequently than those who don’t, even if tests are free, according to researchers. 19% of Latinos are uninsured. This is the worst coverage rate ...
Salud America! led a national webinar to show how our Salud America! Health Equity Report Card can help you visualize and explore place-based health inequities in your county, and build a case toward solutions during these difficult coronavirus times. The webinar, “How to Use Place-Based Data to Promote Health Equity During COVID-19 Pandemic,” took place at 2 p.m. ET Thursday, May 7, 2020. Webinar speakers explored: How inequities in housing, transportation, poverty, healthcare, and access to healthy food and safe places to be active, contribute to disparities in infectious and chronic disease.
How you can use the local data, interactive maps, and comparative gauges in the Salud America! Health Equity Report Card to identify health inequity issues in your county.
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COVID-19 can affect anyone. But, in reality, it's worsening the health and social inequities facing U.S. Latinos. Now the pandemic is raising fears of racial/ethnic and income disparities in coronavirus exposure, testing, prevention via social distancing, and treatment. "As the number of cases rises, citizens are rightfully concerned about who is getting tested and who will receive treatment," writes health equity adviser Brian Williams in a column for the Dallas Morning News. "For those who exist on the margins of health care justice, access to life-saving treatment is never guaranteed."
Disparities in Coronavirus Exposure
We know Latinos are more likely than their white peers to suffer from poverty, underlying conditions, and a lack of quality housing and transit. They also ...
Experts say people who have underlying health conditions should guard against COVID-19. In fact, CDC now says that U.S. adults with diabetes, chronic lung disease, and heart disease are at higher risk for severe COVID-19-associated disease than people without these conditions. Latinos face a heavier burden for several of these conditions. The American Heart Association even warned elderly people with heart disease or hypertension. "Based on current information, it appears elderly people with coronary heart disease or hypertension are more likely to be infected and to develop more severe symptoms," according to AHA. "Stroke survivors may also face increased risk for complications if they get COVID-19" According to the latest report from State Department of Health, out of the ...
COVID-19 doesn't discriminate. But U.S. Latinos are more likely than all Americans to say the coronavirus pandemic changed their daily lives, and disrupts their mental health, finances, and jobs, according to new Pew Research Center surveys. "Latinos make up significant portions of the hospitality, construction, leisure and agricultural sectors of our labor market, and are the largest uninsured population in America," wrote Kristian Ramos, ex-spokesman for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, for The Hill. "These workers and uninsured families are unable to telecommute, will not be paid if their jobs are lost, and likely do not have immediate access to health care."
Latino Daily Life During COVID-19
Early on in the outbreak, Pew Research Center reported that a higher percentage of ...
Coronavirus can affect anyone. But experts warn that COVID-19 will cause more suffering among U.S. Black and Latino workers, due to societal inequities shaped by structural racism and low-paying jobs with no chance of telework. "When the COVID-19 pandemic has ended in this country, we will see an unequal distribution of infections and deaths along the intersecting lines of race and class," wrote labor historian Christopher Hayes in the New Jersey Star-Ledger. UPDATE 4/23/20: 26 million people have filed jobless claims in the past five weeks, NBC News reports. Why is this?
Coronavirus Compounded: Income Inequities among Latino Workers
These statistics show a glimpse of how much Latino workers earn: 1 in 3 Latinos live in poverty.
1 in 2 Latino families are ...
Coronavirus is locking down much of the United States, making it harder for vulnerable populations like Latinos to get information, especially those who speak Spanish. Fortunately, new resources are popping up for Spanish-language Latinos. Here are some of our favorites! Update 5/11/20: Check out our bilingual infographic and the bilingual La Loteria COVID-19 Bingo game!
CDC Promotes Spanish-Language Coronavirus Resources for Latinos
About 37 million Latinos in the U.S. speak Spanish at home. But the CDC wasn't on the Spanish-language boat from the onset of coronavirus. In fact, on March 17, 2020, the website Latino Rebels shared that CDC was behind in translating its "15 Days to Slow the Spread" coronavirus recommendations. They finally posted it three days later. But ...
Cancer patients are at higher risk for the new coronavirus COVID-19, as well as more severe outcomes of the diseases, than those without cancer, health experts say. What does this mean for your cancer journey? For treatment? Screening? Clinical trials? Latinos and vulnerable populations? "We don't want to be overly alarming, but the truth is that Latino and all cancer patients should be concerned about COVID-19 because they are at higher risk," said Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, leader of Salud America! and associate director of community outreach and education at the Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio. "So we want to help spread truthful, equitable information that will help all cancer patients in their journeys." Here are some important issues for cancer patients and ...
