Top media outlets, including NPR and CNN, have turned to Quality Interactions Co-Founder, Dr. Joseph Betancourt, to better report on the critical issue of health disparities and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Even in the absence of adequate race and ethnicity data, a clear picture of disparities in COVID-19's impact has nonetheless emerged: Black and Latino communities are the hardest hit. This is not due to features of the virus itself, but is an indicator of social conditions—including population density and socioeconomic status—which put black and Latino individuals at higher risk for contracting and perishing from the respiratory illness.
This summary of Dr. Betancourt's recent interviews provides a primer on how COVID-19 has created a perfect storm for communities of color and offers direction for how municipalities and institutions should apply immediate efforts to stem the tide.
"If we think about this virus and how it spread - a respiratory virus - you begin to really understand. What is the environment - what are the social conditions that make a ripe opportunity for spread?"
Speaking with NPR's Nina Martin on Morning Edition, Dr. Betancourt outlined structural issues in our society that have been particularly disadvantageous for neighborhoods with high population density and lower socioeconomic status. Vulnerable conditions include:
"We also know that many of those communities have lower access and less access and less easy access to the health care system."
The racial and ethnic minorities more likely to be living in COVID-19 hotspots face greater risk of exposure, but the disadvantage doesn't stop there. Compounding the equation:
"We need to really understand that this virus doesn't discriminate, that these invisible borders between towns, between our neighbors, they don't exist. Our ability to really deploy resources and prevent these hotspots from emerging will ultimately keep the rest of our state safe, and I guess for me as a doctor, keep me and my fellow health care workers from being overwhelmed."
Speaking with WGBH's Mark Herz, Dr. Betancourt described four items he sees as essential to a "full court press" to prevent the continued spread of COVID-19 in vulnerable communities:
"We have a collective responsibility to address the needs of our most vulnerable."
While there is a clear moral imperative to protect the vulnerable among us, COVID-19 presents a practical urgency as well. As the virus spreads through our communities, we are only as safe as those of us who are most at risk. A return to normalcy, or "the new normal," will require strategic initiatives to protect black and Latino communities, low-income communities, limited-English-proficient communities, and other communities that are susceptible to rampant spread and higher death rates due to COVID-19. Quality Interactions will continue to guide the conversation on this critical issue.
Access more of Dr. Betancourt's most recent interviews in full by clicking the links below.
How COVID-19 Patients Are Affected By Health And Other Disparities
NPR, Morning Edition with Nina Martin
April 15, 2020
Massachusetts COVID-19 Data On Race And Ethnicity Reveals Disparities Among Minorities
WGBH, Mark Herz
April 9, 2020
Minority Communities Are Being Hit Harder By The Coronavirus
WBUR, Radio Boston
Tiziana Dearing and Paris Alston
April 8, 2020
For Non-English Speakers, Difficult Language Barriers Become Dire Amid Outbreak
WBUR News
Simon Riós
April 7, 2020
CORONAVIRUS Y CONDICIONES PREEXISTENTES
CNN en Español
Guillermo Arduino
April 9, 2020