Consider This from NPR - Lawsuit Forces Release of Government Data On Racial Inequity Of Coronavirus

Episode Date: July 6, 2020

For the first time in the states history, Arizona has activated "crisis of care standards," a set of protocols health care workers can use to make decisions about how to allocate resources. The mayor ...of Houston says ICU beds are starting to fill up and the city has two weeks to get things under control. The New York Times sued the federal government to obtain data collected by the CDC that reveals more information about how the virus has affected people of color in the United States. The numbers revealed Latinx and Black people are three times as likely to become infected as white people.The virus is spreading fast in Florida. To reach the hardest hit communities, public health workers in Miami are going door to door in Latinx neighborhoods with supplies and information.Find and support your local public radio station.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Today, the mayor of Miami-Dade County said indoor dining has to stop. Again. And gyms and fitness centers are reclosing, too. In Houston, Mayor Sylvester Turner told CBS Sunday that ICU beds are filling up. In fact, if we don't get our hands around this virus quickly, in about two weeks, our hospital system could be in serious, serious trouble. And in Phoenix, hospitals are already there. We are really in a bad situation where we need more resources for our medical system and help with testing. Mayor Kate Gallego told NPR that over the weekend, some people in Phoenix waited hours for a test.
Starting point is 00:00:43 Some of them running out of gas in 110 degree heat. Arizona leads the country in cases per capita, according to the Harvard Global Health Institute. And now the state has activated what are called crisis of care standards. What that actually means is that hospitals might have to start deciding who gets treated and who doesn't. Over 90% of our ICU beds are in use, and we are quite worried that after the 4th of July weekend, we will see another large growth in admissions to the hospital. So we are very worried about what's to come. I believe the worst is still ahead of us. Coming up, public health data about the pandemic that the government fought to keep secret. This is Consider This from NPR. I'm Kelly McEvers. It's Monday, July 6th.
Starting point is 00:01:38 So there's a new batch of government numbers that gives us the clearest picture so far of just how disproportionately people of color are impacted by the virus. NPR host Elsa Chang is going to take it from here. So we finally have the data. Latinx and African American people in the U.S. are three times as likely to become infected as their white neighbors. That's according to some newly available government statistics. And these stats look at 640,000 infections in nearly 1,000 U.S. counties. And what they tell us is that Black and Latinx people are nearly twice as likely to die from the coronavirus as white people. And as striking as those facts are, it's just as striking how we know them.
Starting point is 00:02:29 You see, here's what happened. The New York Times sued the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under the Freedom of Information Act, and the Times won. The government had to be forced, essentially, to reveal basic public health information about how fatal the virus is for people of color. And that data, according to the Times, suggests that Black and Latinx communities
Starting point is 00:02:51 have been hit in a more widespread way than we even knew before, throughout hundreds of counties and urban, suburban, and rural areas, and across all age groups. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Murray, members of the committee. Last week, Dr. Anthony Fauci told a Senate committee that he's worried about another problem, too. And it is a reality, a lack of trust of authority, a lack of trust in government, and a concern about vaccines in general. Basically, what he's saying is that longstanding mistrust of the medical community, combined with fear of exposing their immigration status, could cause a lot of people of color to be reluctant about getting a coronavirus vaccine.
Starting point is 00:03:34 Particularly those populations that have not always been treated fairly by the government. Minority populations, African Americans, Latinx, and Native Americans. And we know from census data that 43% of Black and Latinx workers have service or production jobs that they just can't do from home. Only about one in four white workers have jobs like that. Of particular concern is it's that proportion of the population that generally are the most vulnerable in the sense of the minority communities who in fact, because of underlying conditions, make it more likely that if they do get infected, they would have a poor outcome. So it's extremely important to engage them at the local level. So you're about to hear about an effort like that in one city.
Starting point is 00:04:23 But with the U.S. approaching 3 million confirmed cases of the virus, it's going to take months before we know if any outreach efforts are actually paying off. That was NPR host Elsa Chang. The virus is spreading faster in the state of Florida than almost anywhere else. And in Miami, public health workers are desperately trying to get things under control, using exactly the type of outreach Dr. Anthony Fauci was talking about, sending teams door to door with supplies and information. Danny Rivero of member station WLRN went along to see what that's like. Kathy Burgos has a dozen blue bags hanging from her arm
Starting point is 00:05:11 as she walks the hot streets of Miami's Alapata neighborhood. It's a working-class, Spanish-speaking part of town with a large Dominican population. She stops a mom walking with her baby and gives her two bags of supplies. Inside are face masks, gloves, and information about where to get tested for COVID-19. So every day we're hitting at least 70 homes. I know today we have a lot more homes to hit, around 140 I believe. Burgos works with the Juvenile Services Department of Miami-Dade County.
Starting point is 00:05:47 But now her role has changed as Florida's most populous county responds to the coronavirus pandemic. And the good thing is that within the bags you have cloth masks that they can continually use them. Buenos dias! Three areas in Miami-Dade County are being targeted with these kind of operations. This is the top hotspot in Florida for cases of COVID-19. And these neighborhoods are the worst hit.
Starting point is 00:06:12 Some rural hospitals in Florida have run out of capacity in their ICUs. The local government here hopes these door-to-door efforts will prevent that from happening in the Miami area. Patricio Pineda is happy to get a few masks of supplies for his family. He's a mechanic and says his masks keep getting too dirty to wear. He says now he'll use one mask to work with and another one when he's off. Andres Canty says almost everyone here knows someone who's been infected. He's a 27-year-old baker who lives with his mom and sister. He works six days a week and Andres Canty says almost everyone here knows someone who's been infected. He's a 27-year-old baker who lives with his mom and sister. He works six days a week and says the coronavirus is taking an emotional toll.
Starting point is 00:06:56 It's a little frightening, not gonna lie. It's a little frightening. People keep saying it doesn't affect people my age, but I've seen the numbers. I've seen people my age being affected. And it's a responsibility thing, and it just feels like people are just being careless. A few doors down, Milagro Cecilia says almost her whole family has tested positive. She just tested positive and hasn't left home since. I talked to her through a fence from about 15 feet away.
Starting point is 00:07:32 She says another neighbor who tested positive hasn't stopped leaving the house, and he needs to be educated. Kathy Burgos with the county knocks on doors, avoids dogs, and just generally chats people up. She gives them pop quizzes about how to stay safe and corrects them if they're wrong. There was a gentleman that was really, really informed, but his mask was under his nose. So I think that it's not only important to give, right, the supplies, but to also know that they know how to use it. The most important resource for fighting the coronavirus, she says, is accurate information. Dani Rivero of member station WLRN. Additional reporting in this episode from our colleagues at NPR's All Things Considered.
Starting point is 00:08:21 We'll be back with more tomorrow. I'm Kelly McEvers. I'm Jen White, the new host of NPR's All Things Considered. We'll be back with more tomorrow. I'm Kelly McEvers. I'm Jen White, the new host of NPR's 1A. Take what you hear on Up First and dive deeper with 1A. This show listens to the beating heart of America. Expect a dynamic debate that asks America what it wants to be. This is a show for those who are relentlessly curious. Join me next time on 1A.

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