Capitalist societies are characterized by the great social gap between rich and poor. The coronavirus crisis openly exposes the vulnerability of these countries, and hits the hardest where the distribution of wealth is more unequal.
https://www.dw.com/es/covid-19-la-pandemia-de-la-desigualdad/av-55680583
Exhortation: The government's insistence on imposing repressive and authoritarian measures such as its program to “fight” COVID-19 does not build trust nor educate anyone. The success of the vaccine depends on understanding, not muscle nor fines.
Health is a human rights issue, not a criminal law issue, period.
It is public knowledge that achieving herd immunity requires (eventually) that 70% of the population be vaccinated. There are 231.700.000 individuals in the United States who must be vaccinated and I anticipate that this challenge requires new approaches, police action and fines do not educate anyone and what they create is adversity.
Concerns about vaccines have left many people totally reluctant to get vaccinated, while others have say they want to wait and see how the first wave of vaccine distribution is handled. Many of them fear that vaccines meant to stop the spread of COVID-19 will be harmful.
As a result of their conversations with patients and their own medical experience, health professionals know what is written on the wall is that we are not prepared to implement this vaccine in vulnerable communities.
On the basis of nearly every metric - whether it's rising unemployment, declining academic performance, or exposure to pre-existing conditions that put a person at higher risk of getting sick - the virus and its economic consequences have often affected disproportionately those socially disadvantaged and more severely marginalized people than other groups.
The disparate impact of the pandemic has fueled concern that poor communities, who are among the groups most affected by COVID-19, are being left behind. Therefore, ensuring that poor communities and other marginalized groups have access to and accept treatment is something that medical professionals say is crucial to defeating the pandemic.
The unequal impact is in older age sectors (50+) and salaried working women with a higher incidence in single working mothers.
The pandemic is beginning to leave its terrible mark on society with an increase in inequality and poverty and serious consequences for vulnerable groups, such as young people and minors. There is a social emergency in the making ... For a good part of the new generations, this problem is combined with that of low wages, making it a particularly vulnerable group.
But right now, the only thing that may be more important than getting vaccinated is building trust in the process and in a medical system that has (structurally) mistreated them both in the past and present.
It's all part of a cycle of distrust in medicine that, according to a few reality-admitting medical providers, is completely justified and deeply concerning.
It's not paranoia, it's not that people don't "understand" or just aren't educated and aren't smart about their health. It is the balance of discriminated and marginalized lives.
The reality is that massive concerns have been developed by their frustrating experiences with the medical system that will not be corrected until medicine, public health and government take into account the past and what has been done and what has not been done even if it was evident and necessary: equal opportunities and equitable treatment in health.
Meanwhile, doctors and healthcare providers are taking on a key role by doing something they say should have been done decades ago: working to build public trust in medicine in poor and marginalized communities by acknowledging the harms and past mistakes.
But increasing confidence in vaccines is only part of a process that must continue for years; there is hunger and concern for information and to participate in these subjects when they are presented with community issues in mind.
This pandemic should serve as a wake-up call to how fragile our health care system is, the overwhelming reality of social inequality, and that there is so much room for improvement.
The pandemic has exposed the horrible mask of social injustice and the government's clumsiness in addressing it.
Pachi Ortizfeliciano
See / references:
https://inequality.org/facts/inequality-and-covid-19/
https://inequality.stanford.edu/news-events/center-news/poverty-inequality-and-covid-19
https://www.semana.com/amp/la-desigualdad-social-que-destapa-la-pandemia-del-coronavirus/698097
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6 comentarios:
Coronavirus vs. inequality.
Pandemics expose the shortcomings of every society. Continued and growing inequality was already present in almost every country, even before the COVID-19 outbreak. We are just perceiving the first economic and social consequences of the virus.
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social inequalities.
The accumulating evidence points to recognizing a profound and differential socioeconomic impact in the short and long terms, with potentially serious consequences for the health of populations and, above all, for the equitable distribution of opportunities for health and well-being at all ages.
Inequality in times of coronavirus.
The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken a world that was not prepared to deal with it, mainly due to the lack of national policies to combat inequality.
Of the countries analyzed in the preparation of the Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index (CRI) 2020, only one in six made a sufficient investment in health; only a third of the world's workforce is covered by adequate social protection systems and, in more than 100 countries, at least one in three workers lacks protection mechanisms such as paid sick leave .
All of this has pushed millions of people to death and extreme poverty, while inequality continues to increase dramatically.
Inequality pandemic
The covid widens the gender gap: women assume a greater workload and care, they are more fragile in the face of poverty and violence and have less voice in decision-making. Women are even much more fragile in the face of poverty, they do not occupy half of the positions of power, although they are slightly more than half of the population, they suffer more violence and insecurity, they occupy the worst jobs and overwhelmingly assume those who not even paid: care and home. The pandemic threatens to further deteriorate that reality.
Gender gaps in times of COVID-19
There is evidence from the United States that suggests that in developed countries the pandemic is disproportionately affecting the place of women in the labor market, as they tend to be overrepresented in the most affected sectors such as services, education, entertainment and tourism. The same seems to be true in Latin America and the Caribbean. As is clear from the recent IDB / Cornell Coronavirus Survey and Figure 1 below, single women are more likely than single men to report that at least one adult in their household has lost their source of income during the pandemic.
Gender inequity in response to the new coronavirus
Disease outbreaks affect men and women differently. According to early studies, the SARS-CoV-2 virus causes increased mortality in men. This may be due to issues of sex (biological) or gender (unhealthy habits such as alcoholism or smoking). However, pandemics and their containment measures exacerbate the existing inequalities that women and girls already face.
In the absence of a gender focus in the measures adopted in the fight against the coronavirus and concerned about its possible consequences, women who constitute 70% of the first-line health personnel at the forefront of the epidemic globally, however, they only represent 25% in decision-making positions regarding health policies. This lack of representation in leadership positions has resulted in unmet demands from women and girls.
The gender perspective is essential to detect unjust differences between men and women, and thus be able to take appropriate equity measures. This gender vision must be incorporated in the response to epidemics, both in the report of data disaggregated by sex, the total number of women and men working within each research group, their position, hierarchy, etc. But, in addition, the gender perspective has to be incorporated into research, when discussing the results and developing the conclusions of the studies.
COVID-19: Gender equality is essential for recovery
Women, who make up half the population, have been severely affected. The distribution of care tasks has been uneven. There are also the consequences of the crisis for sexual and reproductive health. In 2020, the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has exacerbated the differences that already existed, real gaps. Why is the unequal distribution of burdens and benefits still there? There are different answers, although they go in one direction: in favor of effective equality. Therefore, perhaps the time has come to move on to the following: Why should gender inequality not continue there.
The gender point of view is necessary to analyze the real impact of the COVID-19 disease. It is also necessary to better define action plans. How to recover those activities and sectors most damaged by the pandemic or by some of the measures to contain it? "Gender" is a cultural and social construction. It is at the base of a hierarchical system, with unequal distribution of roles and tasks for women and men.
Gender is therefore not something "natural" - it is not "sex" - but the result of learning processes and conventions. The effects are transversal, in the sense that inequality reaches all areas, leaving its mark on quality of life and even on health.
What has been the impact of the pandemic? After six months, the balance of UN Women is negative: the increase in violence and harassment has gone in parallel with mobility restrictions and the economic crisis.
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