- From my experience with
treating patients here,
I'm finding that we have more
than half of the COVID cases
are within the African
American population.
And that speaks again to
the health disparities
that we have here.
- We're seeing high rates
of death and illness
among African American,
Hispanic, Latinx populations
and so we're failing to
protect our vulnerable.
- In the state of
Connecticut, for instance,
I think it was quoted
that 8% of individuals
who are white would test,
they test positive.
Over 30% of individuals who were black
are testing positive.
We know that there are a number
of contributing factors that
take place in the black community,
making individuals more susceptible.
And these are all under the,
the general area of
discrimination and racism.
That's taken place over,
over hundreds of years in terms of America
and continue today.
- The pandemic has revealed
terrible disparities
that we've tolerated for far too long.
Those extend to systemic racial injustice,
as well as healthcare disparities.
- A lot of African Americans
have to work more than one job
and getting paid sick leave is an issue.
So a lot of people were still
going to work even when they
don't feel well.
We need to give health for all
and quality health for all.
We have to deal with this health
equity issues that we have.
And that's, you know,
an underlying issue that
we really haven't resolved,
- That are trust issues from, you know,
decades and centuries
of racism and biases.
That distrust has been created,
where whether it's doctors or
medical people or frontline
healthcare workers, you want to,
you typically trust
the types of people who
actually look like you.
As a result of that,
we need to work a lot
in creating that trust.
