Category: COVID-19

COVID-19 / Selected Media

Why eight months? What’s behind the timing of the Covid booster shot

By Erika Edwards and Elizabeth Chuck

Read the full article from The New York Times, here.

Federal health officials are expected Wednesday to present evidence for why people are likely to need Covid-19 boosters eight months after their second doses of a vaccine, according to sources with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The eight-month time frame is most likely based on findings from both the U.S. and abroad looking at how the vaccines have held up over time — and whether they can stand up to the hypertransmissible delta variant of the coronavirus that has overtaken the country.

Beth Kwiatek / COVID-19

Another Voice: Education, not guilt, is the focus of Critical Race Theory

By Beth Kwiatek

Read the full article from Buffalo News, here.

CRT and whiteness studies argue that racism is not the consequence of the actions of individual racists, but that racism is embedded in the systems of our nation: legal, economic, education, religious and political. These systems all purport the myth of equality, but operate in a way that has always benefited whites and continues to do so.

COVID-19 / Selected Media

As Global Pandemic Worsens, U.S. Keeps Blocking Vaccine Patent Waivers Amid Big Pharma Lobbying

Listen to the full story from Democracy Now! here.

“Dozens of countries from the Global South, led by India and South Africa, are demanding a temporary waiver on vaccine patents, but rich countries, including the U.S. under both the Trump and Biden administrations, have opposed the move. Lee Fang, investigative journalist at The Intercept, says there is a “glut” of vaccines going to wealthy countries while much of the rest of the world is left waiting.”

COVID-19

Bill Gates says no to sharing vaccine formulas with global poor to end pandemic

By Jon Queally

Read the full article from Salon here.

“Bill Gates, one of the world’s richest men and most powerful philanthropists, was the target of criticism from social justice campaigners on Sunday after arguing that lifting patent protections on COVID-19 vaccine technology and sharing recipes with the world to foster a massive ramp up in manufacturing and distribution — despite a growing international call to do exactly that — is a bad idea. Directly asked during an interview with Sky News if he thought it “would be helpful” to have vaccine recipes be shared, Gates quickly answered: ‘No.'”

COVID-19 / Selected Media

Racial disparities plague vaccine rollout in WNY and across U.S.

By Caitlin Dewey

Read the full article from The Buffalo News here.

“In New York, white residents have received a disproportionate share of vaccines in each of the state’s 10 regions and in all five counties of Western New York. That disparity is especially dramatic in Erie County: While white residents make up just over 81% of the population, they account for almost 91% of the newly vaccinated. Black residents, on the other hand, represent 5.7% of all vaccinated people (compared to 13.1% of the population), while Asian residents make up 2.5% of those vaccinated (3.6% of the population) and Hispanic residents make up 2.2% (4.5% of the population).”

COVID-19

Changes in Shooting Incidence in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Between March and November 2020

By Jessica H. Beard, Sara F. Jacoby, Zoë Maher; et al

Read the full article from The Journal of the American Medical Association here.

“Firearm violence occurred more frequently in US cities in 2020 compared with previous years. Two major events of 2020 may explain this increase: enactment of containment policies to reduce the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and a national reckoning with systemic racism, including widespread protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd. This study evaluated independent associations between COVID-19 containment policies and the killing of George Floyd on firearm violence in one US city, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.”

COVID-19 / Selected Media

One in Every Three African Americans Not Willing to Get COVID Shot

By Larry Hamilton

Read the full article from The DC Post here.

“Researchers behind the study noted the percentage increased to 35 among the surveyed Black adults, as this group said they ‘definitely or probably would not get vaccinated,’ even though they are affected disproportionately by the pandemic and dying at almost three times the rate of white Americans.”

COVID-19 / Selected Media

Buffalo Congregations, Others Make Real Difference ­in COVID-19 Response

By Tom Peterson

Read the full article from Stakeholder Health here.

“The data that informed their work was that, in the five or six ZIP codes where about 80% or 90% of African Americans live in Erie County (where Buffalo is), African Americans were off the charts in terms of the health disparity around every chronic disease: diabetes, heart disease, cancers, asthma. They were 300% more likely to have a chronic disease if they lived in those communities versus a white person who didn’t, and that translated into shorter lifespans, roughly 10 to 12 lost years of life and a lower quality of life for many.”

COVID-19

The COVID-19 Crisis Continues to Have Uneven Economic Impact by Race and Ethnicity

By Steven Brown

Read the full article from Urban Institute, here.

“The COVID-19 pandemic and related shutdowns have led to the highest unemployment rate nationwide since the Great Depression, nearly a century ago. But the unemployment rate alone does not fully cover how people have been affected. Many are struggling to pay rents or mortgages, are having trouble affording food for themselves and their families, and have lost employer-sponsored health insurance during a still-growing public health crisis. These effects are not shouldered equally; evidence shows the pandemic has more severely affected people of color because of structural racism’s persistent influence.”

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