The Impact of Healthcare
Disparities on the Frontline -- Frazier Beatty, PhD, MPH
Dr. Frazier Beatty discusses how socioeconomic disparities have impacted
frontline workers in the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the WHO 80 to
180 thousand healthcare workers have died of COVID-19 between Jan. 2020
to May 2021. Only 1 in 10 healthcare workers are fully vaccinated in the
African region compared to 80% in fully developed countries. In the
United States frontline workers are disproportionately comprised of
minorities who have little economic resources and an inadequate social
safety net. In the United States, no one is really tracking the impact
of COVID-19 on Frontline Workers. Kaiser Health News and The Guardian
reported over 3,600 deaths of healthcare workers as of April 2020,
two-thirds of them were people of color, but the CDC as of Sept 6, 2022
has listed only 2,307 worker deaths. Dr. Beatty stressed the importance
of adequate PPE, vaccinations and leveraging technology such as
telehealth. If N95s are the best mask to use, then give it to all who
work on the frontline. And, involving community leaders, for example, by
going to churches and engaging church leaders is of prime importance.
“You have to bring someone from the community to help them understand
what the problem is and when you don’t. you alienate them and then they
do not trust you.” Health Watch USA(sm) Webinar, Frontline Worker Safety
in the Age of COVID-19: A Global Perspective. Sept. 14, 2022
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Presentations from additional countries can be viewed at:
https://www.healthwatchusa.org/conference2022/index.html
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