13 Sep African Americans vs COVID-19: Experiencing a pandemic in a pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, African Americans were identified as being more likely to die from the virus than any other race. Recently, I had a conversation with a colleague who strongly advised me as an African American woman to take the necessary precautions to protect myself, especially with the new variant. He has a family member who works in the medical field and currently the number of cases related to the new variant are substantially higher for African American women. I appreciated the advice given but at the same time, I wondered why are we disproportionately impacted as women and a race as a whole.

There is information floating around, that may or may not be credible alleging the virus is man-made and possibly a form of population control to eliminate certain groups or classes of people. The virus has affected a diverse population of people and classes but African Americans have been impacted the hardest. Socioeconomic issues for our race is a pandemic in itself and coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s basically a recipe for disaster.

Sociological Aspects

As we know the increased number of COVID-19 deaths of African Americans have been attributed to underlying health problems. Overall, the ongoing health problems can be tied to economic and social inequalities in access to quality healthcare and treatments, healthy foods, sustainable wages, and safe living environments. To take it a step further, we can even explore how the level of consciousness of African Americans contribute to the issues being experienced.

Let’s discuss some of the barriers to having access to healthcare. A report released by the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), defined access as “the timely use of personal health services to achieve the best possible health outcomes.” Some barriers that come into play may be related to having the financial ability to pay for coverages and services, transportation to the facilities, time off for appointments, communicating with healthcare providers, and receiving quality care.

Some employers do not offer healthcare coverage, which forces an individual to purchase coverage on their own that may or may not be affordable. In the event, they are able to purchase coverage, they may not be able to pay for the services. Having adequate transportation and being able to take time off for appointments adds to the dilemma. If an individual does not have a personal vehicle and relies on public transportation, it creates a constraint on time. While taking a taxi or Uber may be a more convenient option, it adds to the individual’s financial obligations. Taking time off from work for appointments continues to fuel the access issue as well because some employers do not offer paid time off, which once again affects an individual’s finances. If an individual makes it through the initial barriers, there may be an issue with communicating concerns with a healthcare provider and being confident accurate information is being provided.

In addition to lack of access to healthcare, reports released by the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) address the lower quality healthcare received among African Americans for AIDS, cardiac care, cancer, kidney treatments, and strokes. The report concluded some people were more likely to die from the health conditions because of their race or ethnicity and not solely due to the lack of access to healthcare. There were other studies conducted supporting the findings complied in the report by NAM. Further, providers are less likely to prescribe effective treatments for African Americans. In many instances, modern procedures are not performed and treatments consist of medications that are not effective and have long term negative effects.

Switching gears a bit to the lack of access to healthy foods. According to the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) website, food security is defined as having access to enough food for an active, healthy life. Food insecurity is defined as a household level economic and social condition describing limited or uncertain access to adequate food. Research conducted found food insecurity disproportionately affect individuals based on their race and ethnicity. In 2019, 20% of African American households were identified as experiencing food insecurity.

The immediate local environment influences food insecurity, which may consist of accessibility, affordability, and neighborhood infrastructure barriers. Often times, the strategic placement of grocery stores in residential areas are not equitably, thus creating food deserts. Typically, found in urban or suburban and rural areas, food deserts lack the means of having access to fresh fruits and vegetables and other healthy alternatives. Instead you find neighborhoods over saturated with stores like Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Family Dollar. Although, the stores are great for picking up personal hygiene and household items, they are not the best options for healthy food choices.

Recently, I stopped at a Dollar General store to pick up some household items. I always browse around a little to see if there are other items I may need. In this particular store, I noticed they had a small produce section and I was surprised because it was my first time seeing this type of set up. The intent is to provide healthier food options but I’m not completely sold on the idea. In a store that sells a lot of processed and unhealthy junk foods, you have to wonder about the quality of the produce and how it measures up to the produce sold in grocery stores. It would be interesting to compare the type of fertilizers used, pest control methods, and harvest control processes.

Wrap Up

Socioeconomics has played a major role in how COVID-19 has impacted the African American community. It’s hard to fight in a war you are inadequately prepared for. We can trace social inequalities back many, many years and it appears to be no end in sight. Gentrification continues to fuel inequalities by pushing long time residents out of their neighborhoods into less suitable areas. Often times, it may interfere with social networks, interactions with social institutions, and transportation issues.

Higher exposures rates to the virus for African Americans was also attributed to working in essential industries and not being able to work remotely. Also, when testing guidelines were released by the CDC, those who had traveled aboard took priority over those who had not. Therefore, those living in a low income area were not tested as quickly, which contributed to the virus spreading.

Until economic and social inequalities are addressed with solutions that can drive real change in all communities, minorities will continue to be impacted on a greater scale when any type of pandemic surfaces. Government officials acknowledge racial disparities have existed for decades but it’s not something they have an immediate resolution for.