Thread by @PandemicPGRs, [MEGATHREAD: BAME PGRs]Today, we’re working with the wonderful @pocsquared on our day [...]

[MEGATHREAD: BAME PGRs]
Today, we’re working with the wonderful @pocsquared on our day of activism and awareness focusing on BAME PGRs. Our final day will follow the normal structure - highlighting key issues, resources & accounts before ending with a call to action!

@pocsquared are a social enterprise that aims to introduce systematic change in universities so BAME students can progress into paying roles in STEM, as well as decolonising the STEM curriculum and highlighting the work of scientists of colour!

They are made up of three people: Karel Green ( @thisismeonline), an Astrophysics PhD student at the University of Nottingham, Pruthvi Mehta ( @q_the_ordinary) a Particle Physics PhD student at the University of Liverpool and Sehher Tariq ( @sehherT) a R&D consultant. Over to them!

[from @pocsquared]
Before we begin the thread we’d like to state that a lot more about our work and the content of the following thread can be found on our website ( https://poc2.co.uk/ ),">https://poc2.co.uk/">... and our podcast ( https://poc2.co.uk/podcast/ )">https://poc2.co.uk/podcast/&...

POCSquared Podcast

Find it here!: [iTunes][Spotify][Soundcloud] Synopsis: The POC2 Podcast is a monthly podcast hosted by Karel, Pruthvi and Sehher, three women of colour in STEM. It discusses the good, bad and the u…

https://poc2.co.uk/

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🗞️" title="Rolled-up newspaper" aria-label="Emoji: Rolled-up newspaper">So there’s a lot in the media (that you may have seen) about how BAME communities are more affected by COVID and how COVID patients seem to be disproportionately POC.
This has become more & more apparent: in the UK an inquiry has been launched. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/16/inquiry-disproportionate-impact-coronavirus-bame">https://www.theguardian.com/world/202...

Inquiry announced into disproportionate impact of coronavirus on BAME communities

While black and minority ethnic people make up only 14% of the UK’s population, they account for 35% of all coronavirus patients in intensive care

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/16/inquiry-disproportionate-impact-coronavirus-bame

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📜" title="Scroll" aria-label="Emoji: Scroll">Research shows 35% of 2000 Covid-19 patients in ICU were BAME, compared to the 14% of the population in the UK which are non-white: @IFSD_IFPD shows the death rate of British Black Africans & British Pakistanis in hospitals in England is 2.5 times that of the white population.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🩺" title="Stethoscope" aria-label="Emoji: Stethoscope">As for frontline NHS staff who have been infected, the majority who have died have been BAME. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/16/inquiry-disproportionate-impact-coronavirus-bame">https://www.theguardian.com/world/202...
There are many possible reasons behind this:

As for frontline NHS staff who have been infected, the majority who have died have been BAME. https://www.theguardian.com/world/202... There are many possible reasons behind this:" title="https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🩺" title="Stethoscope" aria-label="Emoji: Stethoscope">As for frontline NHS staff who have been infected, the majority who have died have been BAME. https://www.theguardian.com/world/202... There are many possible reasons behind this:" class="img-responsive" style="max-width:100%;"/>

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👀" title="Eyes" aria-label="Emoji: Eyes">However, it is easy to blame factors like health and genetics as the main factors behind the large numbers of BAME deaths due to COVID- this takes the spotlight off socioeconomic factors - these are huge factors and should not be ignored! https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/07/the-guardian-view-on-bame-death-rates-inequality-and-injustice">https://www.theguardian.com/commentis...

The Guardian view on BAME death rates: inequality and injustice

Editorial: Coronavirus is much more likely to claim the lives of black people than white. Socio-economic factors are a significant contributor

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/07/the-guardian-view-on-bame-death-rates-inequality-and-injustice

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💸" title="Money with wings" aria-label="Emoji: Money with wings">Poverty plays a huge role-Black, Bangledeshi & Pakistani groups face higher levels of unemployment and child poverty, & are more likely to live in more crowded conditions. This impacts stress levels, food choices etc, leading to COVID19 risk factors.
http://www.irr.org.uk/research/statistics/poverty/">https://www.irr.org.uk/research/...

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧑‍⚕️" title="Health worker" aria-label="Emoji: Health worker">BAME doctors also feel less able to complain about not having adequate PPE, & BAME doctors and nurses are bullied at much higher levels compared to their white counterparts, and are twice as likely not to raise concerns due to fear of pushback https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/apr/10/uk-coronavirus-deaths-bame-doctors-bma">https://www.theguardian.com/society/2...

UK government urged to investigate coronavirus deaths of BAME doctors

Exclusive: Doctors’ organisation concerned at ‘disproportionate severity of infection’

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/apr/10/uk-coronavirus-deaths-bame-doctors-bma

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🥼" title="Lab coat" aria-label="Emoji: Lab coat"> An astonishing three-quarters of BAME medical staff are worried about contracting the virus. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/may/18/over-three-quarters-of-bame-doctors-fear-they-will-contract-covid-19">https://www.theguardian.com/society/2...

Over three-quarters of BAME doctors fear they will contract Covid-19

Survey highlights continuing lack of protection and testing for frontline NHSA staff

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/may/18/over-three-quarters-of-bame-doctors-fear-they-will-contract-covid-19

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🌍" title="Earth globe europe-africa" aria-label="Emoji: Earth globe europe-africa">Even in trying to research and create a vaccine, overt racism rears its ugly head: There is a nasty legacy of medical testing occurring on black bodies, and it is absolutely disgusting that Africa would be a target of trialling the coronavirus vaccine. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-52151722">https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/worl...

France racism row over Africa testing comments

Two French doctors spark anger by suggesting coronavirus vaccines be trialled in Africa.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-52151722

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🎒" title="School satchel" aria-label="Emoji: School satchel">School age students are being affected by the governments use of modelling predicted grades - schools which are in more challenging socio-economic backgrounds give lower predicted grades to their students - many of whom are BAME.
https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-is-hitting-bame-communities-hard-on-every-front-136327">https://theconversation.com/coronavir... -

Coronavirus is hitting BAME communities hard on every front

The government should consider whether some of its policies will make inequalities worse.

https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-is-hitting-bame-communities-hard-on-every-front-136327

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💸" title="Money with wings" aria-label="Emoji: Money with wings">For BAME postgraduate students, there may be a disparity in their wealth vs their white counterparts, leading to them being more affected by COVID, especially in the case of lack of funding. Many BAME PGRs live paycheck to paycheck: unfunded extensions simply aren& #39;t feasible.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤝" title="Handshake" aria-label="Emoji: Handshake">Young carers are also 1.5x more likely to be from BAME backgrounds - some BAME PGRs may also be carers, and the relatives they are caring for may be more susceptible to COVID. This stress puts a lot of pressure on BAME PGRs, especially when quarantining far away.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✊" title="Raised fist" aria-label="Emoji: Raised fist">It is of vital importance that BAME PGR students are supported in this time - many may be reticent to talk about the effects of COVID on themselves and their families. The impact of race and of institutional racism must not be overlooked.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📙" title="Orange book" aria-label="Emoji: Orange book">If we are to make academia a better, more welcoming place for BAME individuals, we need to make sure that we understand how the barriers BAME people face in academia are exacerbated by the COVID crisis.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👂" title="Ear" aria-label="Emoji: Ear">All of the issues mentioned in this thread and more can be found in Episode 6 of the @pocsquared podcast ( https://poc2.co.uk/podcast/ ),">https://poc2.co.uk/podcast/&... where we talk about the historical and current intersection of BAME people and health.

POCSquared Podcast

Find it here!: [iTunes][Spotify][Soundcloud] Synopsis: The POC2 Podcast is a monthly podcast hosted by Karel, Pruthvi and Sehher, three women of colour in STEM. It discusses the good, bad and the u…

https://poc2.co.uk/podcast/

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🦠" title="Microbe" aria-label="Emoji: Microbe">We have a discussion on the effect of COVID on BAME people worldwide, feel free to listen to the audio snippet below: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1qEhgy6GczL9QttD79r8nv_NaX0FJoMlu">https://drive.google.com/open...

eps6_clip_for_PandemicPGR_thread.mp3

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1qEhgy6GczL9QttD79r8nv_NaX0FJoMlu

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🦻" title="Ear with hearing aid" aria-label="Emoji: Ear with hearing aid">Our podcast ep comes with a transcript for those who are hard of hearing and show notes, where you can find sources for a lot of the information in this thread!
https://poc2.files.wordpress.com/2020/04/poc2-episode-6-shownotes_3-1.pdf">https://poc2.files.wordpress.com/2020/04/p...

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🥰" title="Smiling face with 3 hearts" aria-label="Emoji: Smiling face with 3 hearts">We hope this thread has been informative! A big thank you to @PandemicPGRs for allowing us to collab with them and for their incredible awareness campaign! :) Follow @pocsquared!

[End of content from @pocsquared, back to @PandemicPGRs being behind the tweets!]

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