An Equity Thread
A Pandemic is not more important than racism. We cannot think of equity as the second phase, or that we will "get to it" when we have time.

Here are some things that I have noticed, please feel free to add to the thread:

#Covid19 #equity

1. The initial, blatant, and reinforced racism of this very virus. Not just in name, but in the way people were overtly treated.
The ongoing #'s and nicknames

2. Access to care. How many of you have heard "Telehealth is here to save us"?

What if you don't have a phone/computer
What if you don't have unlimited data
What if you don't speak the same language as the provider
What if you live with you abuser

3. Driving while brown. In shelter in place cities, police are pulling people over. This is one more excuse to stop people because of their appearance, the color of their skin

#DrivingWhileBlack
#ThisIsWhatADoctorLooksLike

4. Impacts of shelter in place. Job loss, child care, poverty, housing insecurity....who is disproportionately impacted by these?

5. Drive up testing, or at home testing.
What if you don't have a car?
What if you don't have a "home"
What if you are not physically able to access these tests?

6. Only offering "sick care". Delaying preventative or optional care
What about DV?
What about IPV?
What about child abuse?
How do we address this if folks are not being seen?

7. Jails and prisons are having devastating spread of COVID19. There are limited ways to socially distance in a jail. What health care is available there?
Who are disproportionately incarcerated?

8. Mass Casualty plans/Worst case scenarios. I have been assured that race/ethnicity/language and the like are all blinded.
But age isn't
But ability isn't
And the very real pre-existing impacts of racism are not factored in