The COVID-19 pandemic across America and throughout the world is still a serious danger to public health for all communities, but especially for African Americans and other people of color communities. African Americans are still disproportionately negatively, impacted by this deadly virus.
For this reason, it is important to both continue and to increase COVID-19 testing for African Americans in 2021.
African Americans comprise 13 percent of the U.S. population, but more than half of all COVID-19 cases, and nearly 60 percent of all COVID-related deaths in the U.S., were in cities with large Black populations.
Now that federal-government-approved vaccines are available, it does not mean that COVID-19 testing is no longer needed.
According to a recent study by the Pew Research Center, a majority of Black Americans (61percent), now say, they plan to get a COVID-19 vaccine (or that they’ve already received one), compared to only 42 percent in November 2020.
As trust increases, we need to also increase access to COVID-19 vaccinations and testing in our communities to create better health outcomes.
The Black Press and the Black Church are two fundamental trusted institutions in our communities.
There is an emerging partnership with Black church leaders to create greater access to COVID-19 testing in our communities and there is a partnership between Quest Diagnostics, Choose Healthy Life and the United Way of New York City to bring COVID-19 testing and education to Black communities in cities across the U.S They are working with trusted voices in Black churches to increase participation.
The pandemic has also revealed that African Americans need access to additional resources to have better control of their health.
In Chicago for example, Black residents make up 30 percent of the population but account for 70 percent of COVID-related deaths, and the majority of Black COVID-19 patients who have died in Chicago also had underlying health conditions, like respiratory problems, hypertension, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), heart disease is the leading cause of death for Black Americans, and Black people experience risk factors that contribute to heart disease like high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol more often and earlier in life compared to White people.
It’s clear, overall healthcare testing is needed throughout Black America.
Getting tested for important health issues— and understanding the results— can help people make informed and sometimes critical healthcare decisions. 70 percent of medical decisions are based on results from diagnostic tests.
Because obvious symptoms of a health issue aren’t always present, testing is one of the most effective ways to identify health concerns that may need to be addressed.
Quest Diagnostics is committed to creating partnerships with others to increase access in Black and other underserved communities.
Hopefully changes to the entire healthcare system will include similar commitments of access to treatment and preventative care for Black communities to move past this pandemic on parity with White America. Access, testing, and equity are keys to achieving and maintaining good health for all.
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