The U.S. was near full employment in January 2020¹, but it only took two months for the economy to take the biggest dip it has seen since The Great Depression.² The COVID-19 pandemic accentuated health disparities among minority communities and how structural life contributes to overall health. With the flu season approaching and economic recovery in the works, minorities continued to be impacted by coronavirus’ double-edged sword.
Robert Redfield, director of the CDC, said that it was very likely the country would see the two viruses co-exist in the fall and winter. However, he also stated that didn’t mean the 2020 COVID-19 epidemic would worsen, only that the situation would become more complicated.³
See how Certintell can uncomplicate the situation by learning about our process [VIDEO]
Regardless of how the two viruses interact every fall and winter, safety measures, such as mask mandates, social distancing guidelines and reduced hours, continued in some form until the vaccine was found. These safety measures were equipped to combat the flu as well, but as the COVID-19 pandemic showed, minorities do not always have the privilege to partake in them.
Employment Woes
While health experts and leaders looked to increase caution going into flu season, the economy was not likely to bounce back so rapidly. However, minorities in the U.S. will continue to feel the disproportionate effects. Minorities were more likely than their white counterparts to work in jobs that increase exposure or could not be performed from home. This meant a large percent were employed in the service sector or in production, transportation, and material moving— where social isolation could not be performed.²
Even if those jobs were able to be performed, many were still affected by pay cuts and job losses. More than 30 million jobs lost were “production and non supervisory jobs.” The U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index reported that 93.4 percent of jobs lost in March of 2020 were low-quality jobs, which were unlikely to offer paid sick leave and health insurance. A large portion of these jobs were held by people of color. For example, 30 percent of construction workers were Hispanic and 24 percent of Black and Hispanic people worked in the service industry.
Tackling the Uninsured
Because of the job outlook, many patients in a minority population are also more likely to be uninsured. The breakdown of nonelderly uninsured patients is as followed:⁶
- 19.1% of Native Americans
- 18% of Hispanic/Latinos
- 12.7% of Pacific Islanders
- 10% of Black people
- 6.6% of White people
These uninsured patients are less likely to seek care for early onset of symptoms, regardless of the disease in question, which can lead to worsened outcomes in the long-term.
Communal Living
Housing insecurity has risen since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. This forced those potentially facing job loss into a precarious balance, and also rendered them unable to change their living situation. Many minorities live in multigenerational houses, with the youngest serving as caretakers for the older generations. This, coupled with increased exposure resulting from job type, made it difficult to isolate older members of the family to decrease their risk. The breakdown of minorities who live in multigenerational households is as follows:⁷
- 26% of Black people
- 26% of Hispanic/Latinos
- 24% of Asians
- 19.9% of Pacific Islanders
- 14.9% of Native Americans
- 13% of White people
Potential Relief: HEROES Act
On Sept. 28 of 2020, high level democrats proposed an updated version of the HEROES Act that would give some reprieve to disadvantaged communities. Major highlights include⁴:
- Another $1,200 stimulus check, based on 2018-2019 tax file
- Anyone with a tax identification number eligible for this check, including undocumented workers
- Exempt from deductions from bankruptcy, child support or garnishment
- $500 stimulus check for all dependents, including those of college age
- $600/week in unemployment, up from $300
- Includes relief for self-employed and gig workers (e.g. Lyft drivers)
- Would start retroactively from Sept. 6, 2020
- Social programs obtain more funding
- $10 billion allocated to SNAP
- Beneficiaries able to purchase hot foods
- $400 million allocated to WIC
- $10 billion allocated to SNAP
- Housing security
- $21 billion for homeowners struggling with mortgage payments or other housing related issues
- $5 billion in grants for families at risk of homelessness or already homeless
- $50 billion in emergency rental assistance to help low-income renters avoid eviction
- $750 million in rental assistance for those living in project-based housing.
- $9.2 billion allocated to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
- 7.6 billion would be allocated toward Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) to:
- Expand health center capacity
- Purchase equipment, supplies and vehicles and hire staff to conduct mobile COVID-19 testing
- 7.6 billion would be allocated toward Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) to:
Looking Back
The health of minority populations continued to be at risk during the flu and COVID-19 season. The House of Representatives passed the HEROES Act in 2020 on a 214 to 207 vote.⁵ However, President Trump blocked all negotiations on the bill until after the 2020 election. During this time period, health centers were urged to pursue funding through innovative outlets and to continue their advocacy efforts with members of Congress.
SOURCES:
¹ Picchi, Aimee. “The U.S. Is near Full Employment. Get Ready for a Bad Flu Season.” CBS News, 15 Jan. 2020, www.cbsnews.com/news/2020-flu-season-the-u-s-is-near-full-employment-get-ready-for-a-bad-flu-season.
² Holtz-Eakin, Douglas. “The Disproportionate Impact of Covid-19 on Communities of Color.” AAF, 27 May 2020, www.americanactionforum.org/testimony/the-disproportionate-impact-of-covid-19-on-communities-of-color.
³ Broadfoot, Marla. “Coronavirus and the Flu: A Looming Double Threat.” Scientific American, 6 Sept. 2020, www.scientificamerican.com/article/coronavirus-and-the-flu-a-looming-double-threat.
⁴ House of Representatives. “Making Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 2021, and for Other Purposes.” Appropriations.House.Gov, 28 Sept. 2020, appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/SUPP_SEP_01_ALL_xml.2020.9.28.1753.pdf.
⁵ “House Passes Updated Heroes Act.” House Committee on Appropriations, 2 Oct. 2020, appropriations.house.gov/news/press-releases/house-passes-updated-heroes-act.
⁶ Hill, L., Artiga, S., & Damico, A. (2024, January 11). “Health Coverage by Race and Ethnicity, 2010-2022.” KFF. KFF. https://www.kff.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/issue-brief/health-coverage-by-race-and-ethnicity/
⁷Mitchell, T., & Mitchell, T. (2024, April 14). 1. “The demographics of multigenerational households.” Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2022/03/24/the-demographics-of-multigenerational-households/
RELATED ARTICLES
