The COVID-19 death toll among Los Angeles County Latinos is reaching frightening levels that the county’s top health officials have called “frankly horrifying,” prompting new calls for the government to do more to help essential workers and people living in dense, overcrowded conditions.
The illness has long hit Latinos in disproportionate ways. Poor Latino neighborhoods are highly susceptible to the spread of the coronavirus because of dense housing, crowded living conditions and a higher proportion of essential workers who are unable to work from home. Officials think people get sick on the job and then spread the virus to family members at home.
From “Vaccines to Vaccinations”: Officials Urge Black Community to Take COVID Shot
By Steven Vargas, California Black Media
Published January 28, 2021
(Courtesy photo)
COVID-19 hospitalizations are starting to decrease in California, but that decline does not mean the pandemic is over, state health officials warn.
The number of cases in California dropped by 31% over 14 days leading up to Jan. 22, according to the New York Times California Coronavirus Map and Case Count. The most recent peak in California was Jan. 12 with almost 46,000 cases reported that day. On Jan. 22, California reported about 25,000 new cases, almost half the number of cases reported Jan. 12.
Health professionals representing “Vaccinate All 58,” a statewide vaccine safety and equity campaign Gov. Gavin Newsom launched, joined a Zoom press briefing with California Black Media organized in partnership with the Center at Sierra Health Foundation. The event was held to discuss the next steps for distri
One of the inescapable patterns of the pandemic has been how the virus
does not touch all lives equally: Along with the elderly and those with underlying health conditions, people who are Black, Latino or poor have experienced a disproportionate number of serious illnesses and deaths. That’s a big reason why state officials want to ensure that all residents have equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.
But just weeks into California’s bumpy vaccine rollout, there’s mounting evidence of inequities in the Southland when it comes to who’s getting the shots and it’s prompting calls to refocus on the state’s vulnerable communities.
The partnership is the first of its kind in Los Angeles County, and will result in the ability to vaccinate tens of thousands of Compton residents once community vaccination begins.
Just weeks into California’s rocky rollout of the coronavirus vaccine, evidence is emerging of inequities in who is getting the medicine, prompting growing demands that vulnerable communities receive more attention.
Los Angeles County officials said they are concerned about low vaccination numbers among healthcare workers in South L.A. and other communities of color, while advocates for essential workers worry that California’s new vaccine priority plan slows their ability to get inoculated despite the dangers inherent in their jobs.
The county Department of Public Health released demographic data Tuesday showing a significantly lower rate of vaccinations for healthcare workers who live in South L.A., home to large populations of Black and Latino residents, compared with other regions.