Covid is an opportunity to change the fairness of American public health forever

“The problem now is that people talk too much, it’s just a choice,” Brunson said, noting that compared with the rest of the American population, white men with Republican voting rights are particularly reluctant to get vaccinated. “Focusing on choosing things will keep people away from the really serious access problems in the United States.”

Thanks to the effective cooperation between the two health systems and black community leaders, a success story happened in Philadelphia. Penn Medicine and Mercy Catholic Medical Center recognize that for the elderly or those who do not have access to the Internet, the online registration process is mainly difficult create A SMS-based registration system and a 24/7 interactive recording option can be used via landline phones, and doctors will answer patient questions before making an appointment. The program worked with community leaders to hold the first clinic in the church and vaccinated 550 people.

“We have worked closely with community leaders, and every clinic since then has continued to evolve in design,” said Lauren Hahn, innovation manager at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Digital Health Medicine.

Hahn hopes that by involving community members as early as possible, the program will make people who come to get the injection feel that the clinic is for them. After the appointment, the patient will be sent home with resources such as helpline numbers, and if they have any questions about side effects, they can call.

“We want to make sure that we don’t just come in to provide this service and then walk away,” she said.

Data needs to guide practice

Researchers say that having complete data on who is vaccinated and who is not vaccinated can improve vaccine rollout and Prevent problems from being covered upData gaps have been a problem since the beginning of the pandemic, when few states reported cases and deaths by race. Although Joe Biden emphasized the fair distribution of vaccines as a priority, the CDC reports that only 56.7% of vaccinators have race and ethnicity data.

However, not everyone wants to disclose more information. In Wisconsin, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said that collecting and publishing data showing different health outcomes between ethnic groups may encounter resistance. “We have to say that racism is a problem,” Crowley said. However, he added, “Look at the data. It will tell you a story there.”

His county created a covid-19 dashboard Crowley said it had reported detailed racial data before many other jurisdictions in the state. It allows the county to work with the City of Milwaukee to open special walk-in sites for residents of certain zip codes.

“We haven’t found a panacea in all of this,” Crowley said. “But in the final analysis, we know that the data is telling a story, and we have to use the data.”

Since the data is public, other pandemic response teams outside the government can also use it. Benjamin Weston, director of medical services at the Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management, said that making covid-19 data transparent and accessible helps community groups and academic researchers know where to focus their efforts.

The dashboard also helps them to see clearly that the communities hardest hit by the new coronavirus have historically faced broader health challenges. For example, after seeing the high incidence of Covid in places where people usually have heart problems, the county decided to provide CPR training at Covid vaccination points. Dan Pojar, the head of the EMS department, said that he expects about 10,000 people to receive CPR training in this way.

“This is an opportunity for us to work with other health systems to bring education and different initiatives to these communities,” Pojar said. “Covid is what really catalyzes this type of analysis.”

From here it may become harder, not easier

Stephanie McClure, assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Alabama, said public health and equity researchers are not surprised by the different effects of the pandemic on certain communities.Racial and economic health disparities may become national and local focal points-Rochelle Varensky, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, April Announce Racism “seriously threatens public health”-but McClure said this trend has not been reversed.