Today, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced the creation of the Louisiana COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force, which will look at how health inequities are affecting communities that are most impacted by the coronavirus.
“We know that right now 70 percent of our deaths in Louisiana from coronavirus are African Americans. This is a disturbing trend and one that deserves our attention, which is why we are engaging a group of leaders right now while the crisis is still ongoing,” Gov. Edwards said. “When we talk about health equity, we mean everyone has the opportunity to attain their highest level of health. The great thing is that the findings and recommendations made by this Task Force will help everyone better access quality care and improve health outcomes. It will also leverage our research capabilities and intellectual brainpower in a collective manner to tackle this daunting issue. I am asking our universities and research institutions to lead this effort.”
Groups that will participate in the task force include:
Southern University’s Nelson Mandela School of Public Policy
Xavier University’s Department of Public Health Sciences
Health Science Centers at LSU and Tulane
LDH Office of Public Health
LDH Bureau of Minority Health Access
Pennington Biomedical Research Center
Schools of Nursing at all of Louisiana’s universities
The immediate assignment is to make sure communities with health disparities are blanketed with good information on COVID-19 safety and prevention; provide the medical community with best practices and protocols for treating communities with underlying medical conditions and health disparities; and ensure testing availability and ease of access for all communities. This Task Force will begin its work immediately and their research will result in the creation of a Dashboard on Health Equity.
I was corrected by a lady the last time I commented about the proposed curfew. My comment included a question. I asked who thought a curfew would be needed to stop people from gathering together without without adhering to the distance guideline, after nine o’clock. Afterward I read her comment that stated there were people still having house parties and congregating in large crowds. I was shocked to read that so many people were being so careless about their loved ones. I am one of those that are considered to be a higher risk. I have several grandchildren and soon to have a second great grandchild. Many don’t understand that when they they hear “loved ones” that it means their grandmother and grandfather along with many of their mothers and fathers.
I am not African American but I have many friends and relatives that are. Many young adults, young children and youth live with their grandmother in this community. I don’t know if the reason there are so many more African Americans diagnosed is because of this but I think it is worth a look. Can it have something to do with different social habits? I don’t know, as I have stated.
What more can be done to protect our older population that is not being done now? How can we get the message across to our younger generations? It is their future that is at stake. How much will their wisdom be missed, their shoulders to cry on, their gentle nudge toward what is right and their guidance away from what is wrong. I know I wish I could still sit on the floor beside my grandmothers rocking chair and just listen to her about the things she learned going through her life. So many rocking chairs are going to be empty in the future. We have to get them to listen to the truth about how important it is for the younger to save the older generation.
I apologize if my words have offended anyone. I type them out of love and grave concern for ALL Americans. I just think social habits should be one of the things that are looked at. I also hope that the message from our leaders will be received and acted upon with the utmost urgency among our younger people.
God bless our nation, every individual and family in it.
I saw where I live this weekend my neighbors had a cook out and looked
to be 20 people or more.Idiots !!
Maybe the percentage of African Americans with coronavirus in Louisiana is high is because there is a large percentage of African Americans in Louisiana.
African Americans only make up 33% of the Population in Louisiana according to the most recent census data where as whites make up 65% of the population
love how you are afraid to use your real name.
Facts are facts doesn’t matter if I use my real name or not
I suppose,it just seems if you believe in your facts you
would use a real name.