Health Inequality: Racial Disparities in COVID-19 Explained by Experts
With the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact being felt in every area of American life, it is more important than ever to provide rigorous research to inform reporting on this crisis. To meet this growing need, Scholars Strategy Network has compiled a list of scholars who are available to be contacted for comments and analysis. Below are the scholars who can comment on racial/ethnic disparities in health care and the impact of COVID-19 on communities of color.
You can connect with all researchers available to comment on the COVID-19 pandemic here.
"If we want to understand current racial/ethnic disparities in COVID-19 we need to consider both historical and contemporary institutional drivers of disparities (e.g., racial violence, segregation, and discrimination). People of color, especially African Americans and Native Americans and many Latinx subgroups, have experienced an elevated risk of mortality and chronic disease since we have been able to collect data about health. This is not new nor are the drivers of these disparities."
"I am a nurse scientist and a Native American who is now also a COVID-19 survivor. From my scholarship and lived experiences, I know that this virus has the potential to do great damage to our nation's Indigenous communities, because COVID-19 only adds fuel to an existing crisis of existing health conditions, poverty, unemployment, poor access to education, and chronic underfunding of the Indian Health Service."
Sanchez conducts research and teaches in the area of American politics with a specific emphasis on Latino politics, health politics and policy.
“Federal immigration policies have placed Latino immigrants at particular risk of infection and death, and recent pandemic policies offer them scant relief. States must innovate to expand Emergency Medicaid to cover coronavirus testing and treatment - and, like New York and Washington, cover it outside of the hospital itself.”