Reed Seeks More COVID-19 Help for Minority Communities

Statement

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) does not discriminate and neither should federal relief efforts says U.S. Senator Jack Reed.

Alarming reports suggest significant racial disparities in the rate of coronavirus cases and deaths in African American and Latino populations. Senator Reed is calling on the federal government to dedicate more resources to the hardest hit communities and to do a better job of addressing health inequalities and other underlying factors that may be contributing to the higher hospitalization and death rates.

Reed, a member of the Appropriations Committee, wants the federal government to direct more resources to help communities of color and impoverished areas; collect comprehensive data from COVID-19 cases that includes information about race and ethnicity; as well as conduct targeted outreach to minority communities.

"We've got to look out for the health and economic well-being of all Americans. Minority communities and vulnerable populations are among the hardest hit. In order to effectively address COVID-19, we have to face facts about economic disparities and health disparities and take steps to mitigate them. We have to collect accurate data and act on it. We know there is no simple solution to this pandemic, but ensuring all Americans have access to affordable health care has proven to help save lives. So reopening the Obamacare enrollment window and directing more federal help to community health centers are two common sense steps that could make a world of difference," said Senator Reed, who recently teamed up with 25 Senate colleagues in penning a letter to Vice President Pence urging the Trump Administration to do more to help minority communities that are seeing a disproportionately higher impact from the coronavirus pandemic.

In their letter, the Senators underscored the critical need for more comprehensive demographic and racial data, and that any COVID-19 vaccine or drug treatment trials include women, racial minorities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

"These disparities are exacerbated by higher rates of chronic disease among many minority populations, inequitable access to health care, reduced rates of economic opportunity, lack of educational opportunities, inadequate access to grocery stores, language barriers and the inability to properly social distance due to working in jobs deemed essential," the 26 Senators wrote to Vice President Pence, head of the White House Coronavirus Task Force.

Hispanics and African Americans are not more likely to contract the disease, but are more likely to require hospital care if they do. A recent analysis by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests African-Americans are being hit especially hard by COVID-19. Only 18 percent of people in the CDC study were black, but among the 580 hospitalized patients whose race or ethnicity was charted, 33% were black, "suggesting that black populations might be disproportionately affected by COVID-19," the researchers wrote.

"[A]ny clinical trials for vaccines and therapeutic treatments of COVID-19 must include participants that racially, socioeconomically, and otherwise demographically represent the United States," the senators added. "'[I]nequitable research can lead to dangerous outcomes for those who are not represented in clinical trials. Drugs including chemotherapeutics, antiretrovirals, antidepressants, and cardiovascular medications have been withdrawn from market due to differences in drug metabolism and toxicity across race and sex."

Joining Senator Reed in sending the letter were U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D,J), Doug Jones (D-AL), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Tammy Baldwin (D-WS), Ed Markey (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Jackie Rosen (D-NV), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Mark Warner (D-VA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA), Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-NV.), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tom Carper (D-DE), Chris Coons (D-DE), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).

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