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Obesity May Lead to Severe Coronavirus Disease, Among Younger Patients


obesity rates as latino man walks away

While the elderly are highly susceptible to the coronavirus COVID-19, young adults aren't off the hook, either. Almost 40% of U.S. coronavirus patients who were sick enough to need hospitalization were between the ages of 20 to 54, according to recent CDC data. "There seems to be this ethos that the virus is no big deal for young people," said Dr. Mark Pasternack, chief of the pediatric infectious disease unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, told the Newbury Press. "But it is a big deal because some young people are getting very sick and because they are also very serious vectors of disease spread." Why Obesity and Coronavirus Outbreak is a Concern for Young People in the U.S.? Obesity may be one of the most important predictors of severe coronavirus illness among ...

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19 Ways to Ensure Health Equity for Latinos During (and After) COVID-19


19 Ways to Ensure Health Equity for Latinos During (and After) COVID-19 coronavirus

Health equity is where everyone has a fair and just opportunity to live their healthiest life possible. But health inequity remains. Now the COVID-19 pandemic is worsening historical inequities, and disproportionately affecting and killing Latinos and other people of color. So what can we do? We need both immediate focus to ease the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on Latinos and people of color, as well as long-term strides to address underlying inequities that are aggravated during this time. It won't be easy, or fast. But here's few ways to push for health equity. 1. Understand the Need for Heath Equity During COVID-19 and After Where you live matters for your health. Even before COVID-19, inequitable city planning, historic discriminatory practices like ...

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65% of Latinos Are Losing Jobs, Money Thanks to Coronavirus


Losing Jobs Money Coronavirus Latinos 65

Recent polling on coronavirus-related unemployment is illuminating alarming statics — mainly, Latinos are bearing the burden of the economic tidal wave impacting the U.S. Nearly 65% of Latino respondents reported losing jobs, experiencing monetary struggles, or know someone who has, according to a recent poll from SOMOS Community Care and Latino Decisions. Latinos already experience high levels of coronavirus negative impact, exposure, and death. "There's a large part of the Latino community that exists on the edges of American society,” Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro told Newsweek. “This pandemic has shown the consequences of some of the inequities in our system.” What does the Poll Report? SOMOS—a New York-based network of physicians serves low-income, minority, and ...

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Coronavirus Poses Added Risk For Adults With Alzheimer’s Disease


Latino man elderly lack of sleep tired alzheimer's

Recent data suggests that older adults are the most vulnerable to the worst effects of the coronavirus outbreak. Older people and people with severe chronic conditions—such as dementia—should take special precautions because they are at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 illness, according to the CDC. Worse, it is not just how many years one has lived that determines risk. "It is not chronological age alone that determines how one does in the face of a life-threatening infection such as COVID-19," George Kuchel, a geriatrician and gerontologist at the University of Connecticut, told STAT. "Having multiple chronic diseases and frailty is in many ways as or more important than chronological age. An 80-year-old who is otherwise healthy and not frail might be more ...

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Infographic: 8 Big Ways Coronavirus Impacts Latinos


Inforgraphic on Coronavirus and Latinos new

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 ...

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Latinos, Disadvantaged Groups Bear Burden of the Economic Fallout 


Latinos Disadvantaged Groups Economic Fallout

As American markets reel from the COVID-19 pandemic, people of color and other groups facing systemic injustice are experiencing the harshest consequences of this financial disaster. Update 5/7/20: More than 33.5 million people have filed for unemployment in the past four weeks since the spread of the current novel coronavirus hit the U.S. Worse, the Latino community is and will continue to face some of the harshest economic—as well as health—burdens from this disease. "We know that when the economy goes into decline, people of color always bear the brunt," Teresa Candori, communications director for the National Urban League, told USA Today. "We will be fighting to make sure the most vulnerable communities are not an afterthought." Latinos and Coronavirus Job Loss by the ...

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Coronavirus Is Hitting People in Poverty the Hardest


Coronavirus Poverty Hardest system justification

Lack of access to healthy food, insufficient health insurance coverage, living paycheck-to-paycheck — all issues that have impacted U.S. low-income families for decades. Sadly, experts say these problems are worsening as the current novel coronavirus, COVID-19, continues to spread. This leaves the millions of men, women, and children, including the 3 million people who have recently lost their jobs, at risk of more issues than just becoming sick. Latinos—many of whom fall below the poverty line—could face significant hardship without a dedicated response from local, state, and federal leaders. "What we are seeing around the country is that we're operating and telling people to do things from the position of wealth," Rev. William Barber II, co-chair of the Poor People's ...

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Salud Talks Podcast Episode 23: “Keeping Calm Amid the Coronavirus”


Keeping Calm Amid the Coronavirus webpic

As COVID-19 continues to dominate headlines, all of us are experiencing new levels of stress and anxiety. With that in mind, we have something a bit different for you all. Public health workers from the Institute for Health Promotion Research join Salud Talks to share their best practices in how—in the words of another global crisis—they are keeping calm and carrying on. Check out this discussion on the Salud Talks Podcast, Episode 23, "Keeping Calm Amid the Coronavirus"!  WHAT: A #SaludTalks discussion about the current novel coronavirus outbreak and ways to stay sane. GUESTS:  Ariel Morales - Research Area Specialist Dr. Daniel C. Hughes - IHPR Assistant Professor Research Angelika Aguilar - Research Associate Stacy Cantu - Program Coordinator ...

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What the New Coronavirus Law Means for Paid Sick Leave, Family Leave


Paid leave provisions in coronavirus relief bill.

People need to stay home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Covid-19. However, for the 27% of the U.S. private workforce with no paid sick leave, staying home isn’t an option, particularly for the full prescribed 14-day quarantine. That’s why a form of paid sick leave and family/childcare leave are part of a new $100 billion relief law, Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which also includes nutrition aid, unemployment health insurance, and free COVID-19 testing. Trump signed the new law on March 18, 2020. It goes into effect April 2, 2020. But the new law could leave out up to 19 million workers, roughly 12% of the workforce, including many low-income Latinos, women, and other vulnerable populations, experts say. Moreover, economists estimate that three ...

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