Mrs. Tigg: COVID-19 Wreaking Havoc in the African American and Latino Communities
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By Mrs. Tigg | AC JosepH Media Guest Blogger
The coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, came onto the scene around December 2019 and within six months, it had become a deadly health crisis with an estimated 8 million new cases.
Today, with little over a year and a half of struggling with this disease in our communities we still don’t know enough to prevent each other from getting it.
The COVID-19 infection rate has seemed to loosen its grip in the community, but is still deadly, and will often leave lingering negative effects that continue to have a significant impact on the lives of the people who were affected by the disease.
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The lasting lingering effects for those who have experienced COVID-19 can be as crippling as the disease itself. Many continue to suffer from headaches, shortness of breath, memory loss and just an overall feeling of exhaustion and weakness.
Why does it seem that has COVID-19 hit the African American and Latino community at higher rates?
It could be the comorbidity rate of diseases that seem to plague the communities such as obesity, lung diseases, hypertension, and other underlying conditions that would make them more susceptible to contracting and having a bad experience with the virus.
Studies have shown that the African American and Latino communities have higher rates of high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes and lung diseases when compared to other non-Hispanic communities. Lack of access to quality healthcare can also contribute to higher mortality rates. There also seems to be a feeling of misinformation, mistrust and sometimes mistreatment in the healthcare system, with the greatest being mistrust.
The African American and Hispanic communities are 60% more likely than non-Hispanics to have diabetes and hypertension. What can we do to protect ourselves and our families?
First and foremost, the most important thing is to seek medical advice from trusted sources. Try to follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Also, consult with your primary care doctor or physician if you have any questions.
When trying to seek information on the Internet or social media sites please verify the source, there are lots of junk websites out there that offer health and wellness advice, and they are not creditable.
Please be diligent when searching for information regarding your health. Keep in mind there is lots of useless and bad information out there. When seeking any health-related information, please consult qualified, verifiable sources.
For more information on CDC.GOV/COVID-19 or the WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: www.who.int/covid-1.
Bio: Mrs. Tigg is a full-time nurse in the Cumberland County area and a mortuary science student at Mercer County College.
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