COLUMBUS, Ohio (WYSX/WTTE) — While the coronavirus was the topic of Friday’s statehouse briefing, Governor Mike DeWine took a moment to address the protest happening outside and how the coronavirus has highlighted racial disparities in health.
DeWine said he is working with other lawmakers to make testing a priority in minority neighborhoods with the help of Ohio’s National Guard, and that Dr. Amy Acton has created a position in the Department of Health to work specifically on health inequality.
DeWine also referenced data that has shown the virus has hit Central Ohio’s Hispanic and black communities harder than others; as past data has shown for other illnesses.
“If you are a black baby, your odds are three times as much that you’re not gonna make it,” DeWine said. “That should shock all of us. That should anger all of us, but what we should do is we can talk about. Talking is important.”
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1 COVID-19 in minority communities prompt doctors to tell patients to look for racial health disparities
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2 Experts raise concerns about health issues outside of COVID-19 pandemic
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3 COVID-19 in minority communities prompt doctors to tell patients to look for racial health disparities
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4 Why are more men dying of the Coronavirus? A history of avoiding the doctor might be to blame (Dispatch)
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5 National Coronavirus updates: Leaders fear virus could spread rapidly during protests (WXII12)
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6 Cuomo calls for end to inequality in healthcare (Patch)
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8 Inequality in the built environment underlies key health disparities in physical activity and obesity.
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9 COVID-19 could lead to an epidemic of clinical depression, and the health care system isn’t ready for that, either
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10 Experts explain heart disease, racial disparities and COVID-19