#on COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation Framework
Dear Colleagues,
The front page of the New York Times on Friday, January 15, featured the excess deaths among Filipino nurses, who comprise 4% of all US nurses, but 32% of nurse COVID deaths in the US. In California, Filipinos comprise 20% of nurses, but 70% of nurse COVID deaths in California. These nurses, and countless health care workers (including caregivers in non-hospital settings) often return home to a multigenerational home, with limited social distancing space, and exacerbate COVID risk to our lolas and lolos.
In California, among confirmed COVID cases, 1% have passed away, but the attached slides (with restricted data from the California Health Department) show that among Filipinos who are not health care workers, the COVID case fatality rate is 29%!! (But, Asian subgroup is missing for 80% of California's COVID cases)
The attached letter to Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith (co-Chair of Pres Elect Biden's COVID Equity Task Force) requests disaggregated data for Filipinos, to prioritize vaccine allocation for household members of health care workers, and representation from our community. The letter is attached for your review and signature by Tuesday, Jan 19: http://tiny.cc/filcovidsign
Thank you to MS1s Nathan Magalit and Kevin Dayao for signing the letter. Kindly forward to your peers. Please refer to email string below by Professor Ninez Ponce (UCLA), who leads this initiative.
‘It’s Starting Again’: Why Filipino Nurses Dread the Second Wave - The New York Times Indispensable to New York City hospitals, health care workers from the Philippines died in shocking numbers last spring. Will things be different this winter? Belinda Ellis, an emergency room ... www.nytimes.com
COVID besieges Filipino, Vietnamese Americans in Bay Area - Los Angeles Times The rate of new coronavirus cases among residents of Vietnamese and Filipino descent is rising faster than among other Asian groups in Santa Clara County, officials say. www.latimes.com
In Unity,
Happy
Maria Rosario (Happy) Araneta, PhD, MPH
Assistant Dean of Diversity and Community Partnerships
Professor, Department of Family Medicine
University of California San Diego School of Medicine
9500 Gilman Drive MC-0606
La Jolla, CA 92093-0606
Phone: 858-822-4145
email: haraneta@ucsd.edu
follow us on twitter: https://twitter.com/ucsd_dcp
| To read the Letter and the know about the Filipino Covid-19 Case Fatality: