A: Our awesome Nerdy friend Dr. Tiffany Green, Assistant Professor in the Departments of Population Health Sciences and Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison recently provided this timely interview about COVID-19 and race-related health disparities.
In this interview, Professor Green covers race differences in occupational structures, health care infection control, access to care, and provides these wise words:
“All this is to say is that racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 morbidity and mortality are incredibly complex. When we make this [issue] about cultural pathology (see the surgeon general’s comments about black and Hispanic people, for which he has since apologized), we not only do these communities a great disservice, but we also do a disservice to the science and to the evidence.”
“Robust empirical evidence suggests that these social determinants — occupation, lack of insurance coverage, and institutionalized and interpersonal discrimination — all lead to these racial and ethnic disparities in morbidity and mortality in general. They are just thrown into even sharper relief when we have a pandemic. Addressing these underlying issues will help make us all better off — not just people of color.”
