Health Awareness
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Racism and COVID-19
Lisa Cooper explains why the pandemic hit African American communities especially hard.
By Karen Kruse Thomas and Dayna Kerecman Myers • Photo by Will Kirk
There’s a saying that when America catches a cold, African Americans catch pneumonia. The axiom proved tragically true as COVID-19 cases began surging in the U.S. this spring. Nationally, African American deaths are nearly two times greater than would be expected based on their share of the population, according to The COVID Racial Data Tracker.
The heightened risk for communities of color was the first concern for Lisa A. Cooper, MD, MPH ’93, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor and director of the Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute and the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity.
In this Q&A, Cooper, a practicing physician and epidemiologist, discusses racism’s role in COVID-19 cases in African American communities and solutions for the inequities.
Why are more African Americans dying of COVID-19 and suffering more from the pandemic?
Before COVID-19, minority communities were already disproportionately impacted by health inequities. People in those communities already have higher rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and lung disease, so these are the folks who were actually going to be at more risk of getting seriously ill with COVID-19. These health inequities result from the financial stresses of being poor and the social stresses of being from a marginalized group with a history of institutionalized, sanctioned mistreatment by law enforcement and other societal institutions.
There’s a confluence of all these different factors—not having access to food, not having access to good quality housing, being crowded in small houses where there are multiple generations and unable to engage in social distancing or stock up on groceries for several weeks at a time, having to use public transportation, to work in essential jobs, and having less access to health care. These are all manifestations of structural racism.
Are you concerned that higher-risk populations might be stigmatized?
Yes, there is always the concern that when we highlight that certain groups are disproportionately impacted by a condition known to be deadly and easily spread, those groups will experience stigma. This is even more concerning for people of color and poor persons because they are often the target of bias and negative stereotypes—interpersonal racism. To counteract these negative stereotypes, we must balance the narrative around health disparities that overemphasizes individual responsibility with an examination of our collective social responsibility. Do our laws and organizational practices provide everyone with the opportunities they need to be healthy? We should make the links between social conditions and health clearer.
The pandemic could bring a shift in thinking toward valuing all people regardless of background, economics, or what’s on the surface.
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Health Ministry
Mission
Our Mission is to support, advocate and listen to those who are experiencing and are challenged with illness, sickness and poor health. We are a community of members who care, collaborate and share health information in the platform of education, praying for others, supporting outcomes and honoring the condition of others in a safe environment.
Vision
The Health Ministry will continue to promote to our parishioners and the community, hope and faith. We are and will be challenged to grow in faith and understanding that we will grow and embrace faith perhaps on our journey to being stronger physically, spiritually and emotionally with Gods grace.
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Behavior and Mental Health Resources
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Health Awareness Ministry
Contact:
Robin Willis
Barbara Stewart -
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Making it Plain - Vaccination Webinar
Saturday, Feburary 13th, 1-2pm (Virutally)
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