Advancing health equity, which partners with Health Care Organizations to tackle Racial Health disparities. We are here today to talk about the disproportionate impact the coronavirus pandemic is having on people of color, particularly African Americans and latinos. It is an issue that i have spoken to policymakers about extensively over the last two months. We will discuss the push by lawmakers in Public Health experts for the data on coronavirus cases, the historic neglect of black and brown health that has led to this moment, what immediate action is being taken to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus on minorities, and finally, what can be done to address the longstanding Public Health issues that this crisis has brought to the forefront. We are going to incorporate some audience questions at the end, so please tweet using the politicolive using the askpolitico. I want to address the news of the day before we dive into the topic at hand. A few hours ago, majority whip steny hoyer announced to the house would not be returning next week for a vote, reversing the plan to come back to washington. Congressman bass, do you agree with speaker pelosis decision, should members have voted ahead of time, and what with the impact of this decision be on the houses ability to quickly pass the next relief package . Bass well, a couple of things. I was glad to hear yesterday in our caucus call that we were coming back next week, so i was surprised by that, because i was not sure what we were actually coming back to do. I know that staff and members from various communities are hard at work on the next bill, but i also know the next bill is not ready. So i thought we would be coming back when the bill was ready. So it makes sense to me that we are not coming back next week. It is also, from the experience of last week, quite difficult. Folks, to manage it, to all have social distancing, i know when it comes to elevators in community meetings. It is quite challenging. Laura thank you, congressman. So i would like to move on to the reason we are here, which is the impact of the virus on minority communities. In milwaukee county, an African American is three times more likely to die from coronavirus than a white person, and a black person is seven times more likely to die of the coronavirus than a white person in the entire state of wisconsin. As of last week, the latest bill coronavirus bill passed by congress, and signed by President Trump, included a provision that required the health and Human Services department to report racial and ethnic data of those tested for the virus, positive cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, to the extent that the information is available. Dr. Blackstock, what will those pending reports miss, and what other relevant data are you looking for as a Public Health expert who works on racial inequality . Dr. Blackstock that is a great question, laura. The Additional Data that we need to know about, we need to have complete data, as you mentioned come on testing. We also need to have more mortality data. As of now, we are only seeing those estates reporting over 100 covid19 deaths, so that data is also incredibly incomplete. We really need to know the full data, because we need to know where do we target our resources. We know that there are communities being hardest hit, and those communities would benefit from widespread testing. Those communities would also benefit from contact tracing. Then in terms of health care resources, we need to know where do we allocate health care workers, as well as resources like ventilators as well. And so theres really a lot of information that we can get from this data, we just need to have it in its complete form. Laura would it be possible to get the data on who actually is having access to a ventilator , and how would hospitals or physicians go about reporting that . Dr. Blackstock so that is information that may be a little bit more challenging to get, but there is a lot of information in Electronic Health records. So if we were to use those as resources for collecting this data, we could find out the data. For example, how long are people staying on the ventilators . Why are patients being taken off of ventilators . We need to look at that data that is aggregated by race as well. Laura thank you. Congresswoman bass, you signed on to that full bill. Aspects of it made it into the coronavirus package, but you signed onto the data reporting bill, and not all of it made it into the package. Will the rest of it be included in the next coronavirus package, and what else are you hoping will be included that will address the disparities that we are seeing . All, iss well, first of appreciate everything the doctor had to say, because that is absolutely what we are fighting for in the Congressional Black Caucus. I will tell you, just to veer off a little bit, that it is very concerning when you talk about the africanamerican or latino population, that people immediately talk about the Underlying Health conditions. And whenever i hear that, i see that as an excuse to do nothing now. That is what i am deeply troubled by. So as the doctor described, we have very Little Information now. It is really anecdotal, even the death rate, and we really need to have concrete information. So the Congressional Black Caucus is calling for several things. Number one, if you have areas of the country where you have such an extreme disproportionate rate, you need to target resources there. Because we lack the leadership from the administration and the commitment on a National Testing strategy, we are left with then you need to send and focus the testing where the data, at least that we have now, is so extreme. Contact tracing we absolutely need. And by the way, in the testing, we also need to have rapid results. We need to have the antibody test. We understand there are controversies around that. We need to make sure people are getting treatment. And we need to make sure that people have access to ventilators. I listened to the president yesterday saying that we had 70 ventilators, that we were sending them overseas, when we know that some hospitals are making decisions on who will get a ventilator, and they are using some process where if you have too many underlying conditions, or we do not think that you might live, then you do not get a ventilator. Well, guess how that is going to turn out . The other thing is there needs to be resources for community education. So there are two ways in particular the black population is looked at his one, you have too many Underlying Health conditions, and two, you are not abiding by personal Public Health guidelines. As opposed to if if you look at the black workforce, we are the ones on the front lines at the grocery store. You know, medical folks doing home health. So that is the reason why we know people are exposed and getting the virus. Laura speaking of the chronic conditions that are very prevalent in africanamerican and latino populations, i want to take a moment and step back a bit and talk about past Health Disparities, the neglect of black and brown health over generations and that has played a role in this moment with the coronavirus. Dr. Blackstock, a week ago, you told me about a black man in his 60s who came to the urgent care in brooklyn, where you work at, and he was suffering from coronavirus symptoms, he was having trouble breathing, and he did not want to go to the hospital for treatment, because he was afraid he would die there. He was afraid it was a death sentence. That exchange captured the historic distrust that African Americans have with the health care system, but that distrust is rooted in generations of inequality into pieces. Can you detail some of the key historic disparities that you are seeing impacting black and brown americans to this day . Dr. Blackstock thank you for that question, laura. History runs deep in terms of the relationship of black communities to the health care system. And i know when we spoke recently, i mentioned even as far back as slavery, when not only did black people not have access to health care, but black people who were enslaved were experimented on. So even some of the equipment that we use today in a normal gynecologists exam, like the vaginal speculum, that was something that was created due to experimentation on black women who worked enslaved. And sometimes even painful surgical gynecological procedures were also used on women who were enslaved. So it is not just a situation of black people not being able to accept health care, but also being abused and exploited by the health care system. The 1930s. Commissioned by the u. S. Public health service. Uneducated black men were enrolled in a study without informed consent. They were known to have selfless selfless, the participants in study were never treated. They were promised free meals, free medical care, and other to stay in the study. Ended because one person discovered the study was taking place. Is a history of black communities neglected by the health care system. Hiv, we have some of the highest rates in black communities, specifically black women, thinking about the structural barriers in place responsible for those numbers not budging in the last few decades, in fact, increasing. The history is quite rich. Next ont to go to you the same topic. You are a physicians assistant during the hiv epidemic. Do you see parallels between and epidemic, coronavirus, Racial Disparities that have carried over . Worked in an emergency room at the beginning of the eighth epidemic. We did not know where it was coming from or anything. By gaye a movement led communities, a social Mood Movement that forced the u. S. To take hiv seriously. Once it got under control and that population and the numbers increased in the black population, the concern and urgency around hiv disappeared. I am concerned about that. It is the history of experimentation, but also how black people are treated when they go to the doctor there. There is a history of symptoms being minimized. I have no doubt when this is over and we are studying why so many black people died, i guarantee you they will find a lot of folks attempted to seek treatment and were turned away, told to go home, told to shelterinplace. There are a lot of anecdotal stories. One family called 911 for the relatives, the paramedics said youre having some breathing problems, but you dont need to worry until the person turns blue. How many black people do you know turn blue . Minimizationnd of and basic mistreatment that is the reason why the patient was reluctant to be in the hospital. He equated that with death. I am glad america has learned about health disparity. What will we do about it . Will we address the problem or use the disparities to say, what do you expect . Not findingrent the urgency. Im glad we got 25 billion, but we need more than that, not just funny, focus, commitment, prioritization. That can be action taken to address the Racial Disparities we are talking about , President Trump has tasked secretary carson to address the minority communities being hit hardest. We have not seen a timeline. Has carson or anyone reached out , and what do you hope that counsel you can address. I learned about it in preparation for this call, so that answer this question. To focus on is individual behavior of black people, then this would make me very angry. The houses on fire. You need to send the Fire Department. You dont send the Fire Department to assess the burning structure, you send it to put out the fire. If the task force is going to focus on intermediate intervention, thats fine. Onit is going to focus teaching black people how to behave, that is a real problem. Nobody said to the young white kids on the beach in florida the reason why you have a high exposure rate is a i will get to you in second. The Task Force Said it plans to address immediate necessities within black and brown communities, but so far, its template has not been released. I do have a question from one of the what are some ways that physicians in training ,n the front lines, residents fellows, can be involved in systemlevel changes to ensure equitable care for patients . It is a question not asked enough. Training, but medical school or whatever school your profession is in, we need to talk about the social determinants of health. Adequateatter of housing, quality education, Employment Opportunities that influence health outcomes. , ia physician in training encourage them to get involved in communitybased organizations in these neighborhoods being the work,etter doing faithbased organizations, neighborhood coalitions, or even medical students that can get involved with, doing the work on the ground, education, messaging , but we know that the messaging that certain communities are has to beout covid19 done in a nuanced way, connecting with other communities, so there are communitybased organizations doing this work. People to get out of the ivory tower into the neighborhoods, where these communities are impacted the most. Thank. Viewer, question from a is there an opportunity for federal funding to be directed covid19s to conduct vexing Clinical Trials for africanamericans and other people of color . Thatc health has written Clinical Trials are usually not very diverse, so is there an opportunity for federal funding to be directed that way . I think you are muted. Idea,t is an excellent within the priorities of the Congressional Black Caucus. , sos are not everywhere that is an issue, but the Clinical Trial very important. Primarilyrials are prepar white men. We have to do education within the community, and the Community Needs to hear from people like him that this is the Clinical Trial that is safe, nobody is experimenting on you. Thing theythe first suggested was lets go to africa to test a vaccine. It is not just in the United States. That experimentation on black folks happens here as well. Thank you. Manylked about how patients are essential workers. ,hat are you hearing about them from him, and their ability to return to work, and are you concerned about the potential for reinfection . We have seen the first wave. A week or twox ago in new york city. We are seeing people coming and ready to go back to work, three or four weeks out from their symptoms. There are so many questions that remain about this novel virus. How long are people infectious . We have people going back to work after one week, two weeks, three weeks. My concern for essential workers ppe,ey dont have adequate which is one of the reasons they got sick in the first place. Many patients are black and brown, essential workers, service workers, and several have expressed concerns about going back to work and reinfecting their coworkers, but they have to go back to work because they have used their sick leave and there is no other option. These are concerns we need to Start Talking about to ensure everybody safety. To touch on the longterm ramifications of coronavirus and what can be done to address longstanding Public Health issues and other areas impacted for black and brown communities. Africanamericans face larger rent burdens than other groups. Color arenities of still recovering from the 2008 financial crisis. Send peoplewant to who are sick into areas where you have disproportionate infection rates or death rates, so we need to address that population to treat them. I think we have to look at the funding, prioritizing. One thing the Congressional Black Caucus was calling for was the funding for the office of Minority Health that the Trump Administration zeroed out. There are a number of things we can do. Caucusesorces with the in congress and we are essentially working with researchers who would do a shortterm and longterm Needs Assessment process. We need to identify communities that have not recovered from 2008, so we need data to address the current crisis, but also data moving forward so we can figure out the best way to address our community. Cdc support and Eviction Moratorium for renters . All of the above. You can address education, the fact that kids will be out of school for an entire year and we have a digital divide, so a number of places we will fall back because of this crisis. In l. A. County, 56,000 people and not a homeless, so you can imagine how this problem will exacerbate that. Thank you. There were a lot of questions from our audience about whether these disparities are a reflection of the prevalence of Underlying Health conditions like diabetes and obesity. Could you please address that question . I think the impact covid19 communities,ack especiallya factor, related to wish patients develop serious complications. Thatlly want to make sure the Disease Burden is not a biological predisposition. The burden is the result of lack of access to care, lack of access to quality care, due to the chronic stress of lack of access to healthy food, due to policies related to race. The system has made our communities incredibly vulnerable and made our people the ones thate will be impacted disproportionately. Ask, pose this question to both of you. This conversation over generations, Public Health has been sounding the alarm about those disparities. Do you