Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Pandemic exposes stark health disparities generations in the making

  • Health
  • by Kate Farrish | C-HIT.org
  • April 16, 2020
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

iStock photo

The pandemic is exposing health disparities that were generations in the making.

Soon after Minerva Cuapio, a 48-year-old Mexican immigrant who lives in New Haven, was laid off from her job at a dry cleaner in March, she developed a headache, an itchy throat and a dry cough.

Then came the shortness of breath that really worried her daughter, Izarelli Mendieta, 29, of New Haven.

While trying to get her mother care, she said, they were bounced from a doctor to the state’s COVID-19 hotline to a telemedicine visit back to the hotline and then to a drive-through testing center and an emergency room visit. The family waited nine days for Cuapio’s positive test results. Izarelli’s father, Pedro Mendieta, 55, who lost a foot to diabetes, tested positive, too, but had mild symptoms.

Minerva Cuapio and Pedro Mendieta have recovered, but their daughter, who translates for her parents because they only speak Spanish, said if she could meet Gov. Ned Lamont, she would ask him to make the process easier for families like hers.

“It was scary and confusing,’’ she said. “Honestly, if they didn’t have me to navigate for them, I don’t know how they would have done it on their own.”

Weeks into the pandemic’s spread in Connecticut, state Department of Public Health (DPH) data show that African-American and Hispanic residents are testing positive for COVID-19 in numbers greater than their share of the population and that black people are dying at disproportionately higher rates than whites.

By not making this a national imperative, the COVID-19 response has bared the ongoing issue of racial and ethnic disparities.

–Patricia Baker, president and CEO of the Connecticut Health Foundation.

The DPH statistics lack demographic details for many COVID-19 cases. Still, as of Monday, in cases for which demographics are available, African Americans made up 18% of those who contracted the virus and 15% of those whose deaths were linked to the virus. They are 12% of Connecticut’s population.

Hispanic residents make up 16.5% of Connecticut’s population, but 24% of those who have tested positive. They account for only 11% of those whose deaths have been linked to COVID-19.

The health disparities are stark in New Haven, where Mayor Justin Elicker has reported that African Americans make up 43% of those hospitalized and 44% of those who have died from the virus. Hispanic residents of the city account for 28% of hospitalizations and 19% of deaths.

While several advocates and experts praised Lamont for his handling of the pandemic, some criticized the federal government for not acting sooner.

“By not making this a national imperative, the COVID-19 response has bared the ongoing issue of racial and ethnic disparities,’’ said Patricia Baker, president and CEO of the Connecticut Health Foundation.

Vulnerable population

Experts like Tekisha Dwan Everette, who have long witnessed higher rates of chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease and asthma in black and Hispanic communities, aren’t surprised by the apparent COVID-19 disparities. Everette, executive director of Health Equity Solutions, has made a career of fighting health disparities because of inequity she faced. As a child in Hampton, Va., whose family was on Medicaid, Everette, now 43, said, her asthma was misdiagnosed for two years.

Takisha Dwan Everette

Everette wrote to Lamont on April 2, asking for a racial and ethnic breakdown of COVID-19 cases. She told him that structural racism and historic inequities mean that people of color are more likely to suffer from chronic health conditions such as asthma and diabetes, work in low-wage jobs and live in densely populated neighborhoods. The pattern, in place for generations, has laid the groundwork for the susceptibility to COVID-19 among people of color.

Wizdom Powell, director of the Health Disparities Institute at UConn Health, worries that the disparities will get worse. She said covert and subconscious racial bias, even among well-intentioned health care providers, is likely affecting the testing and treatment of people of color. “I often argue that racism is a virus that takes on a new host,” she said. “The new host is COVID-19.”

Heightened risks for African Americans and Hispanics are paired with lower rates of health insurance coverage in comparison to whites, which can limit access to health care.

Baker also noted that the closing of many businesses is disproportionally hurting people of color, who generally earn less and have fewer savings than whites. They’re also over-represented in jobs where they can’t work from home, she said.

“They are the cleaning staff in the hospitals. They are my grocery clerks. They’re delivering packages,” she said. “They’re vulnerable because they don’t have the luxury of not showing up on the front lines of exposure.”

Ensuring better health outcomes, both from COVID-19 and in general, means addressing those underlying inequalities.

Baker urged the state to report racial and ethnic breakdowns of who is getting tested for COVID-19. Her foundation would also like to see an independent review of the state’s pandemic response to find ways to improve, she said, not as a “gotcha.”

Wendell Potter, a former CIGNA vice president turned insurance industry whistleblower, urged states to expand testing in urban neighborhoods and called for government leaders to communicate in culturally sensitive ways.

Potter, who now advocates for reform as president of Businesses for Medicare for All, said substandard housing, high-deductible insurance plans and inadequate funding of community health centers might also be contributing to the COVID-19 disparities.

Even before the pandemic, he said, “If you’re not making a lot of money, you’re not getting the health care you need.”

‘Praying’ in New Haven

Dr. Leo Lopez III, a National Clinical Scholars Program fellow at the Yale School of Medicine, blamed a lack of federal leadership for confusion and anxiety among many Americans, including people of color. He said misinformation might also be keeping some people of color from getting tested, and said he heard COVID-19 called “a white man’s disease” at a community meeting in New Haven in early March.

“This was a myth in the community,’’ he said.

The pandemic is stressful for many of the low-income and uninsured people who receive community health and patient navigation services from Project Access New Haven, said Lauren Kelley, the agency’s director of grants and evaluation.

“Some of our patients have lost their jobs, and now they don’t have food. They’ve been asked to do telemedicine, and they don’t have a smartphone,” she said. “Some think ‘I may have symptoms,’ and they don’t know where to get tested.”

Jackie Sanchez, the agency’s lead patient navigator, who has assisted Izarelli Mendieta’s father, Pedro, said her patients are practicing social distancing and wearing masks if they have to go out, but “they’re worried, and you can hear it in their voices.”

Eighty percent of the agency’s clients are Hispanic, and Sanchez said many of them believe God will protect them.

“They’re praying,” she said. “Their faith is what is keeping them sane.”

This story was first published April 16, 2020, by the Connecticut Health Investigative Team.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kate Farrish | C-HIT.org

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Restaurants and other business can go back to full capacity on March 19 as Lamont rolls back COVID restrictions in CT
by Mark Pazniokas and Jenna Carlesso

Connecticut will eliminate COVID-19 capacity limits on restaurants, houses of worship, retailers and most businesses on March 19.

1,500 Hartford school staff to be vaccinated this week at pop-up clinic
by Adria Watson

Vaccinations are taking place Thursday and Friday. A second round will be scheduled in coming days.

With billions in federal relief on the way to CT, legislators assert their role in deciding how to spend it
by Keith M. Phaneuf and Mark Pazniokas

With an unusual bill, state legislators are reminding Gov. Ned Lamont they have significant role in disbursing federal coronavirus relief.

How does the public option bill differ from Gov. Ned Lamont’s health care plan? Here’s a look at the two proposals.
by Jenna Carlesso

With the rising cost of care a central issue this legislative session, lawmakers and Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration have each moved ahead with their own plans aimed at driving down prices.

Will getting teachers vaccinated get students back in school full time? It might not be that easy
by Jacqueline Rabe Thomas, Kasturi Pananjady and Adria Watson

Districts will have to convince parents and students that in-person learning is safe and that students won't bring COVID-19 home.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion The public health bill no one is talking about, but should be
by Brian Festa

On February 16,  the legislature's Public Health Committee conducted a public hearing on two bills, S.B. 568 and H.B. 6423, both of which would eliminate the religious exemption to mandatory vaccinations for Connecticut schoolchildren.  The hearing was capped at 24 hours, depriving nearly 1,500 members of the public who had registered for the hearing their opportunity to be heard.  The vast majority of those who did testify, and who submitted written testimony, opposed the bill.  The committee is expected to vote on the bill as early as  today. 

Opinion Students need more resources, fewer officers
by Tenille Bonilla

"School resource officer" is just a nice way to say cop. But what students really need is more resource and less officer.

Opinion The Board of Regents’ changes must not shortchange its students or faculty
by Carrie Andreoletti, PhD

As a university professor and a lifespan developmental psychologist, I tend to approach my work from a developmental perspective. This means I aim to foster a lifelong love of learning and to help others find a sense of meaning and purpose, as well as confidence in their ability to reach their goals. My approach to higher education is shaped by my desire to provide the best possible education for my students. This is why the recent Board of Regents’ proposed changes at the four state universities have me worried.

Opinion How to close schooling opportunity gaps created by the pandemic
by Carol Gale

We ask school district leaders to trust your public servants whose daily work life involves assessing student needs and planning or modifying instruction to meet those needs. Listen to their voices, as we have, and allocate precious resources on interventions that will offer increased opportunities for Hartford students to succeed.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO