California Latinos are among the hardest hit by COVID-19. Experts blame systemic racism
As the U.S. experiences increasing cases of COVID-19 and deaths, Latinos continue to contract the virus at disproportionate rates, leading some experts to suspect systemic biases across housing, healthcare, and education are to blame.
Public health experts worry racial inequities are making the Latino community more susceptible to getting sick and dying.
During a virtual news conference Wednesday hosted by The American Heart Association’s Voices for Healthy Kids, top public health leaders discussed the barriers Latinos face that make them more vulnerable to infection. Those barriers include higher poverty rates, a lack of access to proper healthcare, working essential jobs, and living in multi-generational households.
“The news is sobering every day,” said the panel’s moderator, Dr. Eduardo Sanchez, chief medical officer for prevention at the American Heart Association. “The truth is that COVID-19 has had a disproportionate impact on Latinx communities.”
Sanchez said Latinos are more susceptible to facing a higher risk for complications from COVID-19 because they experience a higher rate of underlying health conditions such as cancer, diabetes, and obesity. Living in crowded households also contributes to the spread among family members and peers.
Dr. Amelie Ramirez, director of the research institute Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio said a lack of access to health insurance also plays a role while working low-wage and frontline jobs in food, retail, and the health sector create a higher risk of exposure.
Nearly 30% of the country’s Latino population lives in poverty, she said, while 20% lack access to health insurance.
“Our community is more than three times as likely as non-Hispanic whites to be infected by this virus,” Ramirez said. “COVID-19 has actually shined a big, bright light on the inequities that have already existed in our communities.”
Worldwide, coronavirus cases have climbed to nearly 17 million and 661,000 deaths. Though the United States only makes up 4% of the world’s population, the country represents 26% of all cases, according to Sanchez, who added that Latinos are facing the brunt of the pandemic.
States with a high Latino population, including California, Florida, New York, and Texas, in recent weeks, have been experiencing a surge in new cases, he said. While Latinos represent 18.3% of the country’s population, they make up 32.7% of new coronavirus cases nationwide, according to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control.
Fresno County, where more than half of the population is Latino, mirrors that trend. The county is experiencing a spike in new cases that threatens to overflow already at-capacity hospitals and has led to a positive rate that sits well above the state average.
As of Wednesday, Fresno County had 13,336 positive cases and 120 deaths, according to the California Department of Public Health.
Addressing coronavirus impacts in California’s Latino communities
Chief Executive Officer Sarah de Guia of the nonprofit ChangeLab Solutions said local policies play a powerful role in shaping the outcomes for people of color.
To slow down the growing rate of cases among Latinos, de Guia said local governments need to enact laws that eliminate structural racism, eradicating poverty, remove disparities in opportunity and political power, and leverage governance to promote health equity.
“A focus on poverty...would look at the ways that we can offer protections that all workers need in order to ensure stable stability and increased wealth,” she said. “Latinos make up a large portion of the essential workforce...and these are the same groups of employees who lack the protections and job security that higher-income workers have.”
De Guia said higher wages and access to healthcare and paid family leave could increase job security and protections for essential workers. Other solutions to creating a more equitable landscape include access to affordable housing and stronger tenant protections to avoid driving people into homelessness, increasing the minimum wage, and expanding broadband access to low-income households that need the Internet for distance learning.
To help enforce public health orders, de Guia also suggested local governments focus on promoting a public education campaign rather than using criminal penalties when residents fail to wear masks or follow safety measures.
“How we respond to COVID is really a test of our commitment to evening the playing field that has tilted for too long towards those who have power, privilege, and resources,” she said. “We really do have the opportunity right now to rewrite those discriminatory laws and policies to address fundamental inequities and improve health for all.”
This story was originally published July 30, 2020 at 1:53 PM.