Introduction: Since the arrival of the deadly disease that is called Coronavirus, better known as COVID-19, Blacks have fought to get care for this disease, but healthcare turned their back on Blacks yet again. While millions have died at alarming rates off over the world, Blacks and other brown people face racial discrimination in healthcare everyday. This disease taking lives in large quantities still did not get Blacks the service they needed in healthcare. Overwhelming as healthcare may be, the concerns of Black patients are still being ignored. Black families are mourning the loss of their loved ones more than others because they are invisible to the healthcare system.
Healthcare professionals are experiencing this neglect as well despite being the ones who are supposed to take care of the ill. Dr. Susan Moore left her story with social media because her care was neglected by her doctor (Guardian Editors, 2021). Her body pain increased and system weakened before she was taken serious about what she was feeling. She felt as though she was being treated like a drug addict and was left for hours unattended to. It is instances like this that led to a large percent of Blacks dying of COVID-19 in 2020, located in Louisiana (OBHE, 2020). Around that time, Washington D.C. was up to 59% in Black deaths from COVID-19 and Illinois was up to 56% deaths in people of color.
To prevent COVID-19, guidelines had been reduced to wearing a mask, staying 6-feet apart from others, and reduce public interaction. For people of color, especially Blacks, many were at an increased risk of COVID-19 because of health conditions like diabetes, asthma, hypertension, and obesity (OBHE, 2020). It would be difficult for those in Black communities to avoid public transportation and distancing when homes tend to be multigenerational (OBHE, 2020). People of color are likely to hold positions that involve them to interact with multiple people on a daily basis, but they are the least protected in society. Jobs of Blacks were threatened the most with the rise of COVID-19.
Billions have been spent to get a vaccine moving through the world, but it seems like less is available to the Black community. Dr. Susan Moore was not the only case where a doctor lacked interest in treating a Black patient for COVID-19, who later died from complications being ignored. David Bell was a public safety worker who visited the hospital three times for chest pain, and he was sent away with nothing more than over-the-counter pain killers (Guardian Editors, 2021). This lack of access to a vaccine that is supposed to benefit everybody is leaving Blacks vulnerable.
References:
Guardian Editors. “For Black Americans, Covid-19 Is a Reminder of the Racism of US Healthcare | Keon L Gilbert, Ruqaiijah Yearby, Amber Johnson and Kira Banks.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 22 Feb. 2021, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/feb/22/black-americans-covid-19-racism-us-healthcare.
Hailemariam, Maji. “Opinion: Africans Shouldn’t Have To Pull Strings To Get COVID Treatment.” NPR, NPR, 12 May 2021, www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/05/12/993543285/opinion-africans-shouldnt-have-to-pull-strings-to-get-covid-treatment.
OBHE. “Double Jeopardy: COVID-19 and Behavioral Health Disparities for Black and Latino Communities in the U.S.” SAMHSA, SAMHSA, 2020, www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/covid19-behavioral-health-disparities-black-latino-communities.pdf.
