Chinanews.com: Ignoring the poor patients with the new crown, who is the "fortress of democracy" in the United States?

　　China News Service, Beijing, April 9 (Jiang Li) The American Poor People's Rights Organization and the United Nations Economist recently compiled a "New Crown Epidemic Report for the Poor", exposing the devastating impact of the epidemic on low-income communities in the United States. The county’s overall death rate from the outbreak was almost double that of the wealthy counties.

As the report states, while the coronavirus does not distinguish between rich and poor, the U.S. government and society have deliberately done so.

　　The report analyzed COVID-19 data from more than 3,000 U.S. counties.

In the top 300 counties with the highest mortality rates, an average of 45 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.

During the most recent wave, the difference in death rates nearly tripled.

The report believes that the lack of medical insurance in poor counties is closely related to this.

　　Behind these cold numbers is the US government's disregard for the poor.

Jeffrey Sachs, a professor of economics at Columbia University and director of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, said the findings illustrate that the COVID-19 pandemic is not only a national tragedy, but also a failure of social justice.

　　The United States has always claimed to be "the bastion of Western democracy," but it has failed to build an effective bastion to protect its own people.

In the face of high medical costs, the wealthy can naturally take better protective measures to avoid infection as much as possible, and even if they are infected, they can be given priority for treatment.

But for low-income groups, because they cannot pay for expensive medicines and cannot get timely treatment, they can only be swallowed by the virus.

　　Minorities such as African Americans and Indians in the United States face the same difficulties as low-income groups.

When white Americans learned through the media that black Americans had a higher death rate than their demographic group, their fear of the virus subsided, according to a study published in the journal Social Science and Medicine.

　　It is shocking and incomprehensible that this kind of blatant racial discrimination exists openly in the American society that advertises "human rights" and "democracy".

Although the slogan of "anti-racism" is loudly shouted in the United States, the fact is that systemic racism still stubbornly exists in American society.

　　Under the new crown epidemic, the situation of American Indians and Alaska Natives is also not optimistic.

Their in-hospital mortality rate is two to three times that of whites, and they lack running water, healthy food and basic utilities, and are severely underfunded.

　　These long-term marginalized and discriminated groups face injustice from the U.S. government and society, reducing their ability to receive treatment in this epidemic.

It's immoral that they, as Americans, cannot enjoy the same medical treatment as the rich and white.

　　The new crown virus does not distinguish between skin color, rich and poor, and race, but the US government has put different labels on the American people to treat them differently.

Isn't the United States ashamed that it cannot protect the safety of every citizen equally, and claims to be "the world's first" in fighting the epidemic?

Dilemma of the poor and minorities contradicts US claim of anti-Covid success

By John Lee

(ECNS) – A Poor People's Pandemic Report jointly produced by the Poor People's Campaign and economists at the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network has revealed the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on poor and low-income communities across the US

The report said that death rates in poor counties in the US were almost double the death rates in rich counties. It pointed out that while the virus did not discriminate between rich and poor, the US society and government did.

After analyzing over 3,000 counties of COVID-19 data, it found that within the top 300 counties with the highest death rates, 45 percent of the population on average lives below the poverty line. And the latest Omicron variant has caused a death rate nearly three times higher in counties with lower median incomes. Lack of access to health insurance by people in poor counties is believed to be a highly relevant factor.

Behind the data lies the fact that the US neglects the poor. Jeffrey Sachs, a Columbia University professor as well as the president of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, said the findings underline how the pandemic was not just a national tragedy but also a failure of social justice.

The US has been bragging that it is the “Bastion of Western Democracy." However, it failed to build an effective barrier to protect all of its people. The timely rich are capable of paying for expensive medical costs and receiving treatment in a manner even after they are infected with the pandemic, but the poor cannot.

Like low-income people in the US, ethnic minorities including Native Americans and African Americans, are in the same dilemma. A study published in the journal Social Science & Medicine found that when white Americans were informed through the media that black Americans were dying at higher rates than their demographic group was, their fear of the virus receded.

It is shocking and confusing that such obvious racial discrimination exists in a country which advertises “human rights” and “democracy.” The slogan of “Anti-discrimination” has never rooted out the systemic racial discrimination in the society.

The situation of Native Americans and Alaskan Natives is not optimistic either. The risk of hospitalization from COVID-19 is roughly three times higher among American Indian and Alaska Native people compared with whites, while the risk of death is approximately double. They are lacking access to running water, healthy food and basic public utilities and suffer from “systemic underfunding” for medical services.

They are persistently marginalized, discriminated and unequally treated by the US government and society, which has restricted their ability to get treatment. As Americans, they are separated from the rich and whites to get equal medical treatment.

Novel coronavirus has never labeled people by skin color, wealth or race, but the US does. It even claimed itself “No. 1” in the pandemic fight although it has clearly failed to protect all of its people equally.