The latest installment of the #PWChat series centered around the disproportionate effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Black Americans.
Below are the highlights from the chat. You can read the full transcript here, by scrolling down to the corresponding responses.
Q1: How, where, and why are Black Americans disproportionately affected by COVID-19? How does systemic racism play a role in these clinical challenges?#PWChat pic.twitter.com/rSKmLW9g6a
— Physician’s Weekly (@physicianswkly) July 9, 2020
Q1A1: COVID-19 data on Black Americans is incomplete. Many organizations pieced together a picture showing that Black Americans in almost every city, town, and rural community and across all economic classes suffered coronavirus at a much higher rate than other groups.#PWCHAT pic.twitter.com/2WJl355JAC
— BLACKSTEM Global💡🔬🌼 (@BLACKSTEMUSA) July 9, 2020
Q1A2: What DO we know for sure about COVID-19’s impact on Black America? We know that, in general, COVID-19 caused proportionately more infections, hospitalizations, & deaths in all POC (i.e. Black, Hispanic, & Native American) than it did with white Americans.#PWCHAT
— BLACKSTEM Global💡🔬🌼 (@BLACKSTEMUSA) July 9, 2020
A1 For my part Black Americans are not included in the design of systems, processes, and metrics, and we are systematically not hearing their voices in order to improve those#PWChat
— Matthew Loxton (@mloxton) July 9, 2020
I am a bit flummoxed as to how to recruit more PoC, especially WoC when I run “patient voice” research projects.#PWChat
— Matthew Loxton (@mloxton) July 9, 2020
A1 – access to transportation has appeared to be a big driver of COVID testing disparities. A lot of healthcare facilities moved to drive-up testing sites – which is great, unless you are a person who does not have access to reliable, non-public transportation #PWChat
— Nicole L. Pierce, PhD, RN (@npiercePhDRN) July 9, 2020
Great point – so that results in people being simultaneously at higher risk and less able to get testing – which then allows for the spread of COVID19 in homes and communities. We need more accessible testing methods – maybe even at bus or train stations #PWChat
— Nicole L. Pierce, PhD, RN (@npiercePhDRN) July 9, 2020
A1. I’ve seen blacks and Latinos disproportionately affected in my practice. Many of them are working essential jobs in the food industry and hospitals. Would love to hear other reasons this might be the case. #Pwchat
— Linda Girgis MD (@DrLindaMD) July 9, 2020
A1 – there is also the issue of distrust in the healthcare system for Black Americans. With a novel virus that requires untested treatments, I’ve had patients state that they don’t trust that they won’t be experimented upon #PWChat
— Nicole L. Pierce, PhD, RN (@npiercePhDRN) July 9, 2020
A1. There are many answers to this question … I’m a little late to the chat and I see many have already been mentioned but in many of the major metro areas where we’ve been hard hit, many of us are essential workers & didn’t have the option to ‘stay home, stay safe’ #pwchat
— Jay-Sheree Allen, MD #MillennialHealth (@drjaysheree) July 9, 2020
Q1A3: In general, COVID-19 affects more Blacks than Whites? News reporters have told us. For example, journalists revealed that Blacks had coronavirus well above their population %.
Albany, GA – 79% of cases
Detroit, MI – 40% of deaths
New Orleans – 55% of deaths#PWCHAT— BLACKSTEM Global💡🔬🌼 (@BLACKSTEMUSA) July 9, 2020
Here is a map from a recent CDC update that shows where COVID-19 affected Black Americans in higher numbers than their counterparts. Again, this data is incomplete. However, it shows that the disparate outcome happened in many places.#PWCHAT pic.twitter.com/hVkWgz0Pld
— BLACKSTEM Global💡🔬🌼 (@BLACKSTEMUSA) July 9, 2020
The map shows that COVID-19 pretty much attacked black Americans everywhere they live in great numbers.
This means transportation modes added to the problem but weren’t the cause.#PWChat
— BLACKSTEM Global💡🔬🌼 (@BLACKSTEMUSA) July 9, 2020
We also know that before Governors starting to hide COVID-19 data, that Black Americans suffered 42% of the deaths in locations where their population portion was 20% or less. This is a shocking statistic. It is probably worst since the resurgence of the virus.#PWCHAT
— BLACKSTEM Global💡🔬🌼 (@BLACKSTEMUSA) July 9, 2020
The medical field has a long history of not releasing data on Black American health. Obamacare sought to correct this problem, but the effort has been reversed.#PWCHAT
— BLACKSTEM Global💡🔬🌼 (@BLACKSTEMUSA) July 9, 2020
COVID-19 searches for weaknesses in the human body. Many Black Americans have underlying health conditions enabling a coronavirus attack. Blacks suffer from diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, asthma, and more aggressive forms of cancer. #PWCHAT
— BLACKSTEM Global💡🔬🌼 (@BLACKSTEMUSA) July 9, 2020
This is data from the Office of Minority Health showing the high level of morbidities prevalence that exists in the Black community
Diabetes – 13% of the population
Hypertension – 40%
Kidney Disease – 35%
Cancer – 20%
Cardiovascular Disease – 24%#PWCHAT— BLACKSTEM Global💡🔬🌼 (@BLACKSTEMUSA) July 9, 2020
Here’s an article that helps explain what is happening. #PWChathttps://t.co/Ad4TxYM7Bk
— BLACKSTEM Global💡🔬🌼 (@BLACKSTEMUSA) July 9, 2020
Q2: What does the public health data tell us about the impact COVID-19 has had on the black community and other communities of color? Did systemic racism in how the CDC handled the COVID-19 pandemic cause this problem?#PWChat pic.twitter.com/R1Xy8VxSk9
— Physician’s Weekly (@physicianswkly) July 9, 2020
A2 unsure if CDC had systemic racism, but lack of health infrastructure and FFS are certainly an infrastructural form of racism#pwchat
— Matthew Loxton (@mloxton) July 9, 2020
Q2 There’s a lot to unpack here. There’s always bias in healthcare access & the data derived from it. That said, we can say that systemic racism contributed to the COVID response but no necessarily to sustained persistence on COVID19 in marginalized communities IMHO #PWChat
— shereesepubhlth 😷 (@ShereesePubHlth) July 9, 2020
Q2: Overwhelming data shows us what we’ve already seen with countless other disparities: that systemic racism disproportionately affects BIPOC populations at all levels: entry into points of care, testing, infection rates and mortality data #PWChat
— Sacharitha “#BLM #Wearamask” Bowers, MD (@SBowersMD) July 9, 2020
Q2A1: CDC public health data released publicly shows Black Americans are,
– 4X more likely infected w/COVID-19 than whites.
– 2X more likely to die than whites.
– 40% of deathsHispanic is similar. Native American data is higher.#PWChat
— BLACKSTEM Global💡🔬🌼 (@BLACKSTEMUSA) July 9, 2020
Socio-economic factors are connected to poor health from systemic racism.
-Reduced housing/employment options
-Insufficient medical support
-Limited educational opportunities
These issues are part of the #BlackLivesMatter protests during the COVID-19 crisis.#PWChat— BLACKSTEM Global💡🔬🌼 (@BLACKSTEMUSA) July 9, 2020
A new MIT study was released on Monday & it counters the thought that Blacks’ higher prevalence of morbidities puts them at greater risk than white Americans. The study argues that conditions from SYSTEMIC RACISM are the reasons for COVID-19’s disparate impact on Blacks.#PWCHAT
— BLACKSTEM Global💡🔬🌼 (@BLACKSTEMUSA) July 9, 2020
This is the MIT study that goes into depth about systemic racism’s role in COVID-19 spread among Black Americans.#PWChathttps://t.co/9KKB4hxdyJ
— BLACKSTEM Global💡🔬🌼 (@BLACKSTEMUSA) July 9, 2020
Q3: How are Black essential workers impacted by working in COVID-19 rich environments? How does systemic racism play a role in the jobs Black Americans perform, generally?#PWChat pic.twitter.com/Nw5c2XfkbW
— Physician’s Weekly (@physicianswkly) July 9, 2020
Many ppl do not know, but most Black Americans are essential workers. Few Blacks have work-from-home jobs. In the 2019 US Census, the jobs w/highest Black employment are,
Truck Drivers
Construction
Cashiers
Janitors
Security Guards
Nurses
Home Health Aides
Food Services#PWChat pic.twitter.com/m9MnWJ2FMs— BLACKSTEM Global💡🔬🌼 (@BLACKSTEMUSA) July 9, 2020
Q3A2: Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) when the COVID-19 pandemic began. The US govt required essential workers to keep working without PPE. Many Black Americans risked COVID-19 exposure because of their jobs being “essential”. Many Blacks also needed their paychecks.#PWChat
— BLACKSTEM Global💡🔬🌼 (@BLACKSTEMUSA) July 9, 2020
Q3A3: One other fact is that Black essential workers surveyed said their employer retaliated against them for expressing concerns re: COVID-19 protections. NELP found that Black workers were 2X more likely to experience retaliation for their COVID-19 concerns.#PWCHAT
— BLACKSTEM Global💡🔬🌼 (@BLACKSTEMUSA) July 9, 2020
Hee’s a news article that talks about Black American essential workers receiving employer retaliation because of COVId-19 concerns.#PWChat
: https://t.co/PPlMuLwfDg , https://t.co/68GORseifM)
— BLACKSTEM Global💡🔬🌼 (@BLACKSTEMUSA) July 9, 2020
Q3A5: Systemic racism has relegated most Black Americans, even those with technical and advanced degrees, into lower-paying jobs. This employment racism is systemic. It has been a problem for many generations, yet nothing changes. #PWChat
— BLACKSTEM Global💡🔬🌼 (@BLACKSTEMUSA) July 9, 2020
Q4: What additional non-medical challenges affected the Black community’s ability to fight COVID-19? How does systemic racism work to keep these socioeconomic factors in place despite government efforts to eradicate them?#PWChat pic.twitter.com/51cIGaR3Wp
— Physician’s Weekly (@physicianswkly) July 9, 2020
A4. Many of us live in homes with multiple generations, so even if the older members of the family were staying home, the younger ones are going out to work, etc
Social distancing in the home w/ separate bathrooms, etc is not available to many who are vulnerable #pwchat— Jay-Sheree Allen, MD #MillennialHealth (@drjaysheree) July 9, 2020
Q4 Transportation. Many minorities rely upon public transportation to go about ADLS. This puts them in greater danger of contracting #COVID19 and blessed the likelihood of them seeking treatment when they feel sick, as transportation is a natural SDOH factor. #pwchat
— shereesepubhlth 😷 (@ShereesePubHlth) July 9, 2020
A4 – housing and food insecurity. With so many people being out of work, we have seen more of our patients unable to make rent or buy nutritious foods. How can we possibly expect people to socially distance and heal without shelter or food? #PWChat
— Nicole L. Pierce, PhD, RN (@npiercePhDRN) July 9, 2020
Q4A1: One truly sad and cruel challenge Black Americans faced during the COVID-19 pandemic is the lack of food. A couple of small surveys found that 23-28% of Black Americans have gone without food during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic.#PWChat
— BLACKSTEM Global💡🔬🌼 (@BLACKSTEMUSA) July 9, 2020
Q4A2: The 2nd challenge for Black Americans & Asian Americans was an increase in racial slurs & racist behaviors towards them due to COVID-19. Pew Research reported that 40% of black Americans experienced racial taunting/hostilities from OTHER BLACKS due to coronavirus.#PWChat
— BLACKSTEM Global💡🔬🌼 (@BLACKSTEMUSA) July 9, 2020
Q4A3: A 3rd challenge for Black Americans during the COVID-19 crisis is not being made to remove their face masks while in public. There are stories on social media of young Black males being made to remove their masks while shopping. This is racial profiling.#PWChat
— BLACKSTEM Global💡🔬🌼 (@BLACKSTEMUSA) July 9, 2020
Q5: What concerns do the Black community and communities of color have with regard to contact tracing and COVID-19 surveillance efforts? Will systemic racism harm this effort?#PWChat pic.twitter.com/xlr6nwB8WR
— Physician’s Weekly (@physicianswkly) July 9, 2020
Q5A2: Black Americans make perfect digital contact tracing users. Studies routinely report that Black Americans, especially the youth, are prolific users of smartphones. This technology is being used by other countries for their tracing.#PWChat
— BLACKSTEM Global💡🔬🌼 (@BLACKSTEMUSA) July 9, 2020
Q5A3: The biggest problem with COVID-19 contact tracing and the Black community could be trust. No one wants their coronavirus status to affect their employment. As Black Americans fill many essential jobs, many blacks may express concern on data privacy and security. #PWChat
— BLACKSTEM Global💡🔬🌼 (@BLACKSTEMUSA) July 9, 2020
Q6: What concerns do the Black community and communities of color have with their seniors and disabled being protected from COVID-19 in prisons, nursing homes, and group homes? How does systemic racism play a role in these areas?#PWChat pic.twitter.com/vojVEU8wF4
— Physician’s Weekly (@physicianswkly) July 9, 2020
Q6A1: There have been COVID-19 outbreaks in nursing homes, prisons, and group homes. A study found that nursing homes with majority Black American and Latino residents were TWICE as likely to have a COVID-19 outbreak. The outbreak was more deadly to the residents.#PWChat
— BLACKSTEM Global💡🔬🌼 (@BLACKSTEMUSA) July 9, 2020
Here’s an article on nursing home racial differences and COVID-19.#PWChathttps://t.co/lzW3QtwRFR
— BLACKSTEM Global💡🔬🌼 (@BLACKSTEMUSA) July 9, 2020
Q6A3: Prisons were another hotbed for COVID-19 due to the density of human contact within the facilities. Most US prisoners are Black Americans. Therefore, Black prisoners contracting COVID-19 at higher rates than whites were an inevitable outcome. #PWChat
— BLACKSTEM Global💡🔬🌼 (@BLACKSTEMUSA) July 9, 2020
Q7: Are black researchers being included in the work to identify therapeutics and a vaccine for COVID-19? What can white medical and clinical allies do to prevent Black researchers from being excluded from this important work?#PWChat pic.twitter.com/4SeFB8LZfW
— Physician’s Weekly (@physicianswkly) July 9, 2020
Q7A1: Numerous groups across the globe are racing to develop COVID-19 therapies/vaccines. Teams furthest along in their development are in the private sector. 15 groups are working in human trial phases. The number of Blacks involved is small. #PWChat
— BLACKSTEM Global💡🔬🌼 (@BLACKSTEMUSA) July 9, 2020
Q7A2: Dr. Donald Alcendor, a Meharry Medical College professor, has been highlighted in the news for his research on COVID-19. Dr. Alcendor is developing an anti-viral using his previous knowledge from finding a Zika therapy.#PWChat
— BLACKSTEM Global💡🔬🌼 (@BLACKSTEMUSA) July 9, 2020
Q7A3: Another HBCU working on COVID-19, North Carolina Central University (NCCU), won a $1M grant to study the public health & economic impact of CVID-19 on Black Communities across the USA. A new Advanced Center for COVID-19 Related Disparities (ACCORD) will be created.#PWChat
— BLACKSTEM Global💡🔬🌼 (@BLACKSTEMUSA) July 9, 2020
We’re officially out of time, but PLEASE, let’s keep this very important discussion going!
In the meantime, we give special thanks to Cynthia Williams for co-hosting via @BLACKSTEMUSA and thank you all for joining and providing great insights and thoughts!#PWChat pic.twitter.com/pLWv4vPWkP
— Physician’s Weekly (@physicianswkly) July 9, 2020
