{"id":122289,"date":"2020-05-13T21:39:49","date_gmt":"2020-05-14T04:39:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/?p=122289"},"modified":"2020-05-14T15:17:11","modified_gmt":"2020-05-14T22:17:11","slug":"essential-workers-and-their-kids-unsafe-as-states-reopen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/essential-workers-and-their-kids-unsafe-as-states-reopen\/","title":{"rendered":"Essential Workers and their Kids \u201cUnsafe\u201d as States Reopen"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Ab0ve):<\/strong> Dr. Tung Nguyen, a professor at the Health Division of General Internal Medicine at the\u00a0 University of San Francisco; Melva Thompson-Robinson, director of the Center for Health Disparities Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; David Hayes-Bautista, director of the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture at UCLA; Mayra Alvarez, president of the Children\u2019s Partnership; and members of the ethnic media at a Zoom conference held, May 1, by Ethnic Media Services. (Siliconeer\/Zoom screen grab)<\/em><\/p>\n

By Sunita Sohrabji, Ethnic Media Services Contributor<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

SAN FRANCISCO \u2013 As several U.S. states reopen their economies, a panel of health and policy experts caution that certain ethnic groups will continue to be at greater risk for catching and dying from COVID-19.<\/p>\n

One-third of all COVID-19 infections worldwide are in the U.S., where more than one million cases have been confirmed, resulting in more than 84,000 deaths.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo put it into perspective, that\u2019s basically a 9\/11 event every three days in terms of the number of deaths,\u201d said Dr. Tung Nguyen, a professor at the Health Division of General Internal Medicine at the\u00a0 University of San Francisco, speaking on a video conference May 1 hosted by Ethnic Media Services.<\/p>\n

Speakers emphasized the greater health risks associated with re-opening for Latino and African-American populations. They singled out workers at meat processing plants \u2013 almost all Latinos \u2013 which closed due to COVID-19 outbreaks but were ordered reopened by President Donald Trump despite the lack of social distancing protocols.\u00a0 They also cited the impact of re-opening on children whose parents may have to work while schools remain closed.<\/p>\n

At the briefing, Nguyen cited Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who has warned of a second wave of infections if governors rush to re-open their states without first meeting standard metrics.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Nguyen cited one standard as 7 to 14 consecutive days when the number of new infection cases has not risen within a state. So far, he added, none of the states with the highest number of cases has even had three straight days without a rise. In Georgia, the governor has\u00a0 aggressively reopened the economy despite a peak in mortality rates May 1, with 1,232 total deaths.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0 infectious disease specialist dismissed the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug President Trump has touted as a treatment.\u00a0 \u201cThere is clear evidence of harm and no evidence of benefit,\u201d said Nguyen.<\/p>\n

But a glimmer of hope lies in the new drug Remdesivir, developed by Gilead, which reduces recovery time from a severe COVID-19 infection by three days and improves mortality rates.\u00a0 Nguyen said Gilead would have to ramp up production of Remdesivir, but added, \u201cThe drug is helping us see a light at the end of the tunnel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Melva Thompson-Robinson, director of the Center for Health Disparities Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, highlighted the impact of the pandemic on African Americans, who suffer death from COVID-19 infections in disproportionately high rates. Several factors contribute to the population\u2019s greater vulnerability, including implicit bias within the health care community which contributes to poorer quality of care experienced by African Americans.<\/p>\n

\u201cStories are coming out where African-Americans are presenting themselves to emergency rooms with COVID-19 symptoms but are not being seen,\u201d\u00a0 Thompson-Robinson said.\u00a0 \u201cIn some cases, it\u2019s taking multiple trips for that person to finally be seen\u2026or be tested, and by the time it\u2019s confirmed that they do have Covid, they are so sick, they can\u2019t recover.\u201d<\/p>\n

David Hayes-Bautista, director of the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture at UCLA, pointed out that Latinos are twice as likely as the population at large to lack health insurance coverage. But they are on the front lines of serving the population sheltering in place, from producing and delivering food to working in nursing homes, working as auto mechanics, and driving buses, among other occupations, often without protective equipment.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Hayes-Bautista also highlighted the findings of the Center\u2019s new study which identifies the metric for evaluating the spread of the virus to determine whether states should re-open. Rather than looking only at the number of new cases, the Center ranks states by the number of infections per one million residents. By this metric, New York and New Jersey are in the top tier,with 15, 132 per million and 12, 907 per million respectively.\u00a0\u00a0 Two states where protesters are pushing aggressively to reopen \u2013 Louisiana and Michigan \u2013 rank sixth and ninth on the Center\u2019s list, with 5,917 per million and 3,975 per million respectively.\u00a0 California ranks 35th<\/sup>, with 1,195 infections per million.\u00a0 (https:\/\/bit.ly\/2Sx6HvC<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Mayra Alvarez, president of the Children\u2019s Partnership, a national research and policy advocacy group based in Los Angeles, relayed \u201cdisheartening findings\u201d of a new survey of 600 parents of very young children in California. The survey, by Global Strategies Group in partnership with EdTrust and the Children\u2019s Partnership, found that more than half of parents of young children are not confident about being able to pay for basic needs like food, housing and health care.\u00a0 (https:\/\/bit.ly\/2Widzhu<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\u201cOne in three are skipping or reducing meals so that their kids don\u2019t go hungry \u2013 a number which increases significantly among new parents with a child one to six months old,\u201d Alvarez said.<\/p>\n

Many children will now face continuing to learn at home while their parents return to work, and they will be without adequate resource such as laptops and internet connectivity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Ab0ve): Dr. Tung Nguyen, a professor at the Health Division of General Internal Medicine at the\u00a0 University of San Francisco; Melva Thompson-Robinson, director of the Center for Health Disparities Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; David Hayes-Bautista, director of the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture at UCLA; Mayra Alvarez,…<\/p>\n

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