When the start of Covid-19 really started up in late March, it was very terrifying and unpredictable as there was no clear way to just tell if someone had contracted the virus or not. SARS-CoV2 is a once in a lifetime virus that will inevitably be a part of humans lives forever. Although this pandemic has brought a halt to much of the world, it has stricken lower class people a completely different way. For people of the poorer classes, this virus has changed their lives for the worse when it comes to healthcare. I remember seeing a news story about a month after the outbreak first started which showed that people of color were more likely to die from the virus than any other racial group. The story explained how because of the high prices it costs to see a doctor and purchase health insurance policies, many people of color who contracted the disease could not seek the medical attention that need and deserved without inquiring very large medical bills. This is very alarming because is all boils down to the American health care system. I believe this is an example of a systemic injustice because the very broken American health care system makes it hard for people in the lower classes, and people of color, to obtain health insurance for themselves or their families. The impact of this instance shows how there are several inequalities in the healthcare system, which is mainly in the fact that health insurance is EXPENSIVE. Some people have to choose to put food on the table and/or have a roof over their head instead of health care, which is completely understandable, but wrong. This singles out lower-class citizens and makes them more susceptible to dying from this virus because they cannot get the medical attention they need and deserve. Minorities and people of color are singled out in this instance and are often seen as the “Other” or just poor, even though they are much more than those harsh categories. In this example there are many persons that are the “One”: some upper-class people and policy makers that have the ability to make a change to this injustice. In the end, this systemic injustice is made obvious through the health care system in the U.S. This system is broken because of the unjustly cost that is required to go see a doctor today. Affordable health care is a must for U.S. citizens, and some may even argue that universal health care needs to be the move for our government (it has worked for Canada and the U.K.).
Taken from: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/investigations-discovery/hospitalization-death-by-race-ethnicity.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/us/coronavirus-covid-triage-rationing-ventilators.html
Taken from: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/us/coronavirus-covid-triage-rationing-ventilators.html
Resources: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/health-equity/race-ethnicity.html
Great post! I never took the perspective that you did on COVID and its effect on poor people but the information you have shared is very important. COVID has been extremely detrimental for everyone, but with the cost of healthcare I can only imagine the effects that it has had on the poor.
Hello! Really great job on your post. I also focused on healthcare for my showcase as well but i really like how you incorporated aspects that are so recent to now with COVID to express this injustice. All of the different lack of healthcare opportunities based on finances is especially prevalent within the current pandemic situation and I am really glad you shed light on to that more specifically. I really think the chart you provided as well was essential as a visual to really emphasize your writing. Great job on your post!!