Feature
A different pandemic
Healthcare disparities and COVID-19 By Paul J. Rochon, MD, FSIR
T
here is an oft-repeated saying: Disasters don’t create disparities, they uncover them. I’ve seen this evidenced
first-hand. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina left a wake of disaster in New Orleans, and the whole world watched as Black communities suffered. America learned what these communities had known for years—due to systemic, economic difficulties they were forced to live in unsafe flood zones. When disaster struck, they were the first and hardest hit. I was interning through Louisiana State University at the time and will always remember witnessing one of my patients—a Black, homeless man— stranded in his motorized wheelchair.
14 IRQ | FALL 2020
Though New Orleans has since rebuilt, the impact of Hurricane Katrina is still being felt in those communities. And much as the world watched with horror as the most vulnerable of city fled destroyed homes to seek rescue on their rooftops, the COVID-19 crisis has once again lifted the veil, this time on a different pandemic: systemic racism and disparities in our nation’s healthcare.
The impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable populations At the time of writing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that Black Americans have comprised 19.9% of COVID-19
cases and 22.3% of deaths, and Hispanic individuals comprised 30.9% of cases and 16.9% of deaths.1 These communities account for only 13% and 18% of the U.S. population, respectively. These numbers do not include data where race was not reported, and also does not include individuals who were not tested— notable, as limited testing is most prevalent among communities without access to affordable healthcare, without means to pay for the testing or without the ability to take time away from work to be tested.
There are clear reasons why minority populations are disproportionately impacted by a health crisis like COVID-19, such as systemic factors surrounding employment and income. While many Americans are able to work remotely and social distance, immigrants and people of color often work for less pay and take on “essential” jobs instead of facing the crisis at home.2
According to the CDC,
25% of Blacks and Hispanics work in service industry jobs compared
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