Fewer than 5% of Latinos participate in federal clinical trials. That gives researchers less chance to find treatments that work for this population. Latinos suffer a heavier burden of coronavirus, obesity, and certain cancers. How are we going to make sure new treatments─such as a COVID-19 vaccine─work as well for Latinos and other people of color? Let’s use #SaludTues on Tuesday, April 28, 2020, to discuss how to ensure diversity and inclusion of people of color in research amid the COVID-19 pandemic! WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: How to Ensure Diversity in Research during Coronavirus
TIME/DATE: 1-2 p.m. ET (Noon-1 p.m. CT), Tuesday, April 28, 2020
WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues
HOST: @SaludAmerica
CO-HOSTS: UnidosUS (@WeAreUnidosUS); League of ...
A soda tax aims to reduce sugary drink consumption and boost public health. In a new twist, Seattle is using soda tax revenues to give emergency $800 grocery vouchers for 6,250 families amid the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, Next City reports. City leaders mailed a $400 voucher in March 2020 for families to buy groceries at Safeway. They will send a second $400 voucher this month. Mayor Jenny Durkan called this rapid-response to coronavirus "remarkable." “As schools and child care facilities close, we need to do everything we can to support families and ensure they can put food on the table,” Durkan said, Next City reports.
Sugary drinks do not contribute to good health, especially among Latinos, according to a Salud America! research review.
Let's examine how soda ...
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 ...
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 ...
The coronavirus outbreak is making it harder for Latino and other families to get enough food to feed their families, a condition also called food insecurity. Families that rely on food assistance can’t stock up, or shop online, either. Let’s use #SaludTues on Tuesday, April 21, 2020, to discuss how to improve food access and mitigate food insecurity for Latinos and all people during the COVID-19 pandemic! WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: Tackling Latino Food Insecurity amid Coronavirus
TIME/DATE: 1-2 p.m. ET (Noon-1 p.m. CT), Tuesday, April 21, 2020
WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues
HOST: @SaludAmerica
CO-HOSTS: UnidosUS (@WeAreUnidosUS), Food Research and Action Center (@fractweets), and Feeding America Advocacy (@hunger)
HASHTAG: #SaludTues
...
Latino teens are more worried than their peers that they won't be able to keep up with school work or extracurricular activities amid coronavirus, says a new survey by Common Sense and SurveyMonkey. 70% of Latino teens fear falling behind in homework. 62% of Latino teens fear lagging in activities like band and sports. These are far higher percentages of worry about online, distance learning than their white (49% and 53%), black (66% and 54%), and other (40% and 50%) peers. How "real" is this teen angst?
Many Teens Are Not Connecting with Teachers During the Coronavirus Pandemic
Coronavirus has shut down schools and fueled the rise of online, distance learning. But not all teen students regularly communicate with their teachers. One in four teens connect with teachers ...
Medical and health experts agree that being active outside is crucial to maintaining physical and mental health—as long as we keep 6 feet of distance between each other amid coronavirus. But social distancing is hard when so many more people are using sidewalks, trails, and parks. That’s where open streets can help. Open streets, which close streets to vehicle traffic, create more outdoor space for people to walk, bike, roll, and stay active and socially distant during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sign a petition by the Rails to Trails Conservancy to urge local leaders to close select streets to car traffic, and open them for human activity during this global pandemic! SIGN THE PETITION!
The Growing Need for Open Streets
As the U.S. coronavirus pandemic continues, trail ...
Systemic, health inequities impacting disadvantaged groups are rampant in America and they're causing those individuals to suffer worse, even fatal, COVID-19 outcomes. Early reports suggested that those disparities would play a role in the current coronavirus spread, making minority groups, including Latinos, more likely to suffer severe harm. Now, weeks into the American pandemic, early reports from hotbed areas—such as Oregon and New York City—are proving that prediction true. "There are clear inequalities, clear disparities in how this disease is affecting the people of our city," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told the New York Times. "So many people struggle to get the healthcare they need, who didn't have the money to afford the healthcare they deserved. So many ...
Randy LoBasso is pushing to make bicycling safer and more equitable in Philadelphia. But, as COVID-19 shut down businesses and schools, the bike-as-transportation enthusiast found people crowding local bike trails and making it hard to practice social/physical distancing. LoBasso had a thought. What if Philadelphia (15% Latino) closed streets to car traffic? Could people use streets to freely bike, walk, and be physically activity while also maintaining six-feet distance? LoBasso led an “open streets” petition and got the city to close a major street to cars, and open it for people walking, biking, and rolling. And he’s not stopping there.
LoBasso Understands Need for Biking as a Means of Transportation, Access to Opportunity
LoBasso isn’t a spandex-wearing ...
