In KevinMD, I wrote about how anti-Asian racism shows up not only in anti-Asian violence, harassment and discrimination, but also in US COVID-19 policy. The racism in our narratives undermines the U.S. public health response (and this is not new in U.S. history): Naming the anti-Asian racism of U.S. COVID-19 policy.
“In the wake of the Omicron variant’s arrival, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released revised guidelines for isolation, quarantine, testing, and upgrading mask quality. Still, Americans are asked to engage in individualised actions, regardless of their access to resources to protect themselves and their communities. This is the antithesis of a public health response. What we need is an approach based on equity that improves access to masks and tests for those with the least access.”
In this Op-Ed, led by Deshira Wallace, MSPH, PhD, from the University of North Carolina, with Kristin Urquiza from Marked By COVID, Julia Raifman, PhD from Boston University, and myself, we review current US programs on masks and tests distribution, and how all of our policies need to be better designed and implemented for equity.
-Read the rest on BMJ Open here: https://www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj.o344
Hello !
I am working with Marked By COVID, a grassroots non-profit led by people severely harmed by COVID, to demand a stronger federal response to minimize the spread and impact of SARS-Cov-2.
Testing and masking are critical tools to slow the spread of Covid, protect vulnerable communities, and limit the number of individuals disabled or made chronically ill by the pandemic. But free or affordable rapid at-home tests and high-quality masks are still too difficult to find.
Our current policies favor those with money, time and resources for masking, testing, and isolation from work- without a change now, the federal government is taking a public health approach that is proliferating more avenues of structural racism.
Sign now to demand a national, coordinated COVID-19 response that includes an ample and continuous supply of free rapid at-home tests and N95-quality masks for all, along with data-driven mask and testing policies to mitigate risk and bolster the effectiveness of current vaccination efforts.
SIGN THE LETTER TO WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE COORDINATOR JEFFREY ZIENTS TO DEMAND FREE RAPID TESTS & N95 MASKS FOR ALL. >>>DearZients.com