The USA's COVID-19 pandemic experience is an example of privileged thinking that what generally works for those in power ought to be the standard for what makes medical interventions, research, treatments, and policy ethical. As a result of not focusing on doing whatever was required for vulnerable or susceptible populations or their members to achieve their health and flourishing, there are a disproportionate numbers of COVID-19 infections and deaths in Black, Hispanic, and indigenous communities. Future studies will likely show even more harm and larger health failure than known of now. Instead of using the language of privilege and power in their thinking, public health organizations should focus far more on the language of diversity and meaningful inclusion. If we truly are interested in the vulnerable and susceptible communities flourishing as individuals and populations within our society, as well as the society's flourishing, then those terms have to be defined in the language of the vulnerable and susceptible. It is only by using this approach that we can make pragmatic plans that work to the advantage of those who are vulnerable or susceptible.
This personal narrative recounts the experience of a nursing student, Sonia Sweat, and her family as they battled COVID-19 in 2020. After Sonia fell ill, her husband Jason followed suit, and his condition quickly deteriorated. Despite her efforts to care for him at home, Jason was eventually hospitalized and placed in the ICU, battling severe complications. Sonia details the emotional turmoil, the challenges of navigating a health system during a pandemic, and the anxiety of being separated from her husband due to strict quarantine protocols. Her story highlights the personal impact of COVID-19 and the strength of families facing such life-threatening challenges.
In 2022, Dr. Ebony Michelle Collins-a scholar, author, and vision-health advocate-suffered sudden bilateral retinal detachment and blindness following a COVID-19 infection, despite no prior history of ocular disease. Her story reveals a largely overlooked consequence of the pandemic: the potential for serious neurological and ocular complications. This paper uses narrative ethics, supported by virtue ethics, to explore the personal and ethical dimensions of COVID-19-induced neurological impairment. Narrative ethics centers patient stories to humanize clinical data, while virtue ethics emphasizes empathy and compassion in care. Dr. Collins' experience underscores the urgent need for greater awareness and research into the neurological and ocular effects of COVID-19, particularly retinal conditions such as hemorrhaging, vascular occlusion, and detachment. Her case calls for an ethically grounded, patient-centered approach in both research and clinical practice to better address the long-term consequences of the pandemic.
Efforts to reduce the unequal impacts and generations of systemic disadvantage and inequality in healthcare for black and brown communities became amplified and were made more urgent during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, public health surveillance systems have been challenged to address the vulnerabilities that residents within these environments and experiences. This paper describes the methodology used to develop a public health ethics and bioethics surveillance system grounded in empathy and care ethics. This surveillance system was designed to assess the prevalence of ethical and social justice violations relative to the COVID-19 vaccines administration. The authors describe the methods used to establish content validity of the questionnaire, evaluate the data, and compare three ethical theories (i.e., deontology, utilitarianism, and care ethics) that would best undergird public health ethics to increase health equity.
The 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has brought to the forefront racial disparities in health outcomes across the US, but there is limited formal analysis into factors associated with these disparities. In-depth examination of COVID-19 disparities has been challenging due to inconsistent case definition, isolation procedures, and incomplete racial and medical information. As of June 2020, over 14,000 (25%) confirmed COVID-19 cases in Georgia did not have racial information. However, nearly all COVID-19 deaths had racial and ethnic information for analysis. Using county-level information from the Georgia Department of Public Health and the national County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, we found that Black Americans represented 31.5% of all Georgia residents but 46% of COVID-19 deaths. In the metropolitan Atlanta area, this over-representation was most pronounced in Fulton County which houses the City of Atlanta. The opposite pattern - worse disparity in counties surrounding the central city-bearing county - was instead observed in Albany, Columbus, and Macon, with no significant disparity difference in counties surrounding Savannah. Principal component analysis of health-related outcomes and social determinants of health from these 46 counties identified 17 themes, with greater racial disparities in COVID-19 deaths associated with worse air pollution, more rural communities, and paradoxically greater adherence to guidelines for screening mammography. We conclude that factors associated with the virus responsible for COVID-19 and healthcare disproportionately impact Black Americans.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a highly infectious disease of paramount public health importance. COVID-19 is mainly transmitted via human-to-human contact. This could be through self-inoculation resulting from failure to observe proper hand hygiene and infection control practices. Our objective was to develop a quantitative risk assessment (QRA) model for determining the efficacy of wearing makeup as a mitigation in reducing COVID-19 transmission between genders. Utilizing the epidemiologic problem oriented approach methodology, after reviewing different published literature, and data collected from different sources including Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), selected journals, and reports, a comprehensive knowledgebase was developed. A conceptual scenario tree drown based on the knowledgebase. Variables were grouped into five major parameters. Monte Carlo simulations of QRA parameters were run utilizing @Risk software. The probability of COVID-19 transmission due to the face-touching frequency times per hour ranged from 2.30 × 10-7 to 3.87 × 10-5 with the mean and standard deviation (SD) of 7.93 × 10-6 and 6.37 × 10-6 respectively. The probability of transmission due to T-zone touching frequency times per hour for all the participants and those females who usually wear makeup and both males and few females who do not, with values ranging from 9.66 × 10-8 to 7.20 × 10-6 with the mean and SD of 1.85 × 10-6 and 1.29 × 10-6 respectively. Females were the less likely to touch their faces (45%), compared to males (55%). Females were less likely to touch their faces and contact with the T-zone when wearing makeup (24%) than that of those who did not (62%). Wearing makeup is a way to create a barrier between your face, especially the T-zone and your contaminated hands. The use of makeup can be utilized as a mitigation, which reduces the likelihood of face touching and thus in the transmission of COVID-19.
The purpose of this paper is to understand the perceptions held by undergraduate students enrolled in four sociology courses regarding their online learning experiences as many institutions looked to online learning in the wake of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Forty-nine students completed 30-minute semi-structured interviews. Findings indicate that that lack of access to the internet was detrimental in regard to their role in acquiring knowledge in an online environment. The quantity and quality of interactions through the online courses were not meaningful. Online learning was detrimental. Assignments were easily overlooked/forgotten. Overall, students did not perceive their online educational experiences as beneficial in comparison to their classroom experiences.
Introduction:COVID-19 infects minority groups with comorbidities at higher rates than whites. In addition, children are at risk of vaccine hesitancy based on parents' acceptance and due to disparity. About twenty percent of workers would get vaccinated, especially if required by work. Methods:A community survey was created and distributed in Qualtrics© to focus on vaccine hesitancy. We collected demographics, attitudes, knowledge, and acceptance of vaccines on a post-survey following COVID-19 training from July 2021 through January 2023. The number of participants in the survey was 159. Results:Women comprised 81.8% of the survey participants. The sample included African Americans (73.6%), Latinos (25.8%), Non-Hispanic whites (16.4%), Native Americans (1.9%), and Asians (1.6%). In addition, 93.6% spoke English and 16.4% spoke Spanish. The medical plans documented were 63% private insurance, 15.3% Medicare, 10.2% Medicaid, and 11.5% no coverage. The vaccine training post-survey demonstrated correct knowledge scores ranged from 79.2% to 94.7%. The documented attitude was 6.3% for those who did not want the vaccine, 6.3% believed the vaccine was not safe, and 10% for those concerned with the side effects. Conclusion:After the training, participants gained a strong knowledge of the concepts that the trainer presented to them. A small number of individuals had a reduced attitude toward vaccination.
Introduction:There was an outbreak of COVID-19 during the first months of the pandemic in an underserved geriatric institution, which had no fatalities. This study aimed to describe the detection, isolation, and mitigation process of the residents infected by COVID-19. We also assessed factors associated with the infection among 252 institutionalized older adults. Methods:The setting was a Geriatric Hospital and Nursing Home San Miguel, the larger 1stlevel geriatric hospital and nursing home, in Cali, Colombia. We made a cross-sectional analysis of residents' characteristics by infection status, no-infected vs. infected. Results:This population had a median age of 80 years (range 55 to 103); 50% were women, and 84 (33.3%) were infected, but none died and did not go to the ICU or were referred to a higher-level hospital. In a multivariate logistic regression model, infection was associated with age, female gender, lower grip strength performance, and higher clinical frailty scale score. There was a significant interaction effect between age and the clinical frailty scale on infection, indicating that frailer was associated with infection among those at ancient ages (≥80). Conclusions: All institutionalized older adults with COVID-19 infection in this geriatric institution survived. It is likely related to appropriate general medical and nursing management, including well-controlled comorbidities, individualized interdisciplinary rehabilitation, attention, and support.
This commentary explores how the Trump administration transformed the COVID-19 pandemic into a political tool, using it to advance divisive agendas and bolster partisan support. The article highlights President Trump's initial dismissal of the virus as a minor issue, the administration's mishandling of preparedness, and the reliance on disinformation. By politicizing mask-wearing and reopening strategies, Trump shifted public discourse, prioritizing economic interests over public health. This dangerous rhetoric led to a sharp rise in infections and deaths, disproportionately affecting Black and brown communities. The analysis calls for voters to consider the administration's failings as a vital factor in future elections, urging the public to understand the life-or-death stakes involved.
Juan Alan Christian was a resilient man-a beautiful soul. He was a breath of fresh air. And no one who knew him would have guessed he was fighting for his life. A gay man who grew up in a traditional community where being gay was something to hide, he conformed to societal norms. He was happy. He was funny-gregarious. Dapper. Juan's love of fashion and attention to detail were definitional. He was truly a fashion icon in his own right. Perhaps, those were the characteristics of a gay man-stereotypically-but he dated women. He followed church teachings, family expectations, and societal mores. They said, "No. You must love the way we want you to." And he tried. The ladies loved him. But he hid who he was. When he finally allowed himself to be himself, he eventually met a man who made him a statistic. Juan contracted the human immunodeficiency virus.
This paper will present a case study of local responses to the epidemic in immigrant enclaves and majority-black neighborhoods in Atlanta, Georgia. The COVID-19 health crisis presents an unprecedented challenge for many black and brown communities in the United States which may be particularly vulnerable to the contagion because of higher rates of certain pre-existing conditions like heart disease, lack of access to adequate healthcare services, and financial pressures to continue working despite increasingly risky conditions. In the American South where burgeoning ethnic enclaves, well-establish majority-black neighborhoods, and affluent suburbs exist side by side with vastly different healthcare concerns, disorganized governmental responses to the COVID-19 epidemic highlight the importance of efforts by CBOs (i.e. advocacy groups, neighborhood associations) to address the localized impacts of the virus. As an emerging immigrant gateway with a history of racial tension and inequality, Atlanta is a prime location to analyze the mediating role of community-based organizations in addressing health crises in communities of color in the New South. This study will examine CBOs in two prominent immigrant enclaves, Clarkston and the Buford Highway Corridor, as well as two majority-black localities, Stone Mountain and the city of Atlanta's West Side. My analysis of Atlanta CBOs' responses to the COVID crisis will focus on their efforts to disseminate public health information, provide resources and services addressing COVID externalities, and utilize social media platforms to engage with community members online.
COVID-19 variants continue to infect thousands of people even though the end of the pandemic was announced on May 11, 2023. Nextstrain CoVariants (CoVariants) genomic databases provide detailed information about more than 31 variants of COVID-19 viruses that have been identified through genomic sequencing, showing the mutations they carry. Mutated viruses may yield a negative result for a gene target using a PCR test that has a positive COVID-19 test result. This negative gene target result is known as gene target dropout/failure, not a negative COVID-19 test result. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), and CoVariants utilize gene target dropout/failure as a Variant of Concern (VOC) screening method until the genomic sequencing is performed. The Thermofisher TaqPath COVID-19 Combo kit (TaqPath), a real-time RT-PCR test, detects COVID-19 nucleic acids in respiratory specimens. TaqPath PCR COVID-19 target profile data was retrieved from the Tuskegee Health Disparities Diagnostic Center COVID-19 clinical laboratory. The results revealed an association between the TaqPath results date tested and CoVariants tracking announced and end dates for S gene target dropout/failure (SGTF). This study highlights the usefulness of TaqPath COVID-19 Combo Kit gene target profiles in monitoring and mitigating the spread of emerging COVID-19 variants, without genomic sequencing.
Jonathan David Hodge recounts his personal experience of living through the COVID-19 pandemic as a high school student. Isolated from friends due to school closures, he describes the toll the pandemic took on his social and mental well-being. After contracting the virus during a trip to Florida, he faced both the physical challenges of recovery and the emotional difficulty of quarantine. Despite these hardships, Hodge reflects on the lessons learned, including resilience in the face of adversity and the importance of maintaining connections with loved ones. His testimony provides a unique perspective on how the pandemic affected young people during a crucial stage of life.
The emergence of the Novel COVID-19 Pandemic has undoubtedly impacted the lives of individuals across the globe. It has drawn the attention of major public health agencies as they work intensely towards understanding the behavior of the virus causing the disease, while simultaneously establishing ways to curb the spread of the virus among populations. As of the time of writing, 7,949,973 confirmed cases have been reported globally; with the United States (US) contributing to 26.4% (2,096,902 of 7,949,973) of case infections. Additionally, 434,181 deaths have been reported with the US contributing to 26.7% (115,755 of 434,181) of case fatalities. At least 21.0% of these cases in the US belong to the Black Non-Hispanic ethnic group, resulting in an added burden to the many existing health disparities facing this Black population. Tuskegee University, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in the Deep South, has a majority Black Non-Hispanic population that is disproportionally susceptible to contracting COVID-19. By conducting an overall evaluation of those initial and ongoing COVID-19 pandemic response actions implemented by the HBCU, our study investigations support the basis for understanding and assessing the impact of implementing effective public health measures at a minority serving institution. The evaluation exercise has captured a unique framework model that can be used for analyzing direct and indirect impacts of the pandemic to the HBCUs. The framework has allowed for the identification of integrative and modular interactions among stakeholders, mechanisms and actions implemented by the university's leadership through appointed committees such as the Community Health Task Force (CHTF). The designed systematic framework was used to understand how the mitigating response actions taken by the HBCU contributed to keeping the institution's 'community family' as safe as possible through the existing pandemic. The framework model is a potentially effective tool that can be used to enhance the Institutional Infectious Disease Response Plan, and to develop policies necessary to manage outbreaks of a similar nature. Investigations also suggest that through the implementation of public health best practices and recommendations in accordance with those released by public health agencies, the burden of the pandemic can be reduced and community spread of COVID-19 prevented, when HBCUs strategically manage the interactions among its resources on campus.
The study investigates the potential impact of COVID-19 vaccines on menstrual cycles, with a particular focus on Black women and those with underlying reproductive health conditions. Despite numerous reports of menstrual irregularities post-vaccination, research on this subject remains limited. The study aims to explore whether these irregular cycles could indicate broader reproductive health concerns, such as reduced ovarian reserve, and whether certain vaccines are more likely to cause these changes. It also examines the concept of «contraceptive masking,» where hormonal contraceptives may mask the true extent of underlying reproductive health issues. A survey was conducted among women of diverse racial and geographical backgrounds to assess changes in menstruation following COVID-19 vaccination. The findings revealed that Pfizer's vaccine was most associated with menstrual changes, including heavier and longer periods, particularly after the second dose. In some cases, women who rarely menstruated before vaccination began to experience cycles post-vaccination. The study also suggests that vaccination timing relative to the menstrual cycle may influence these changes. Women of color, especially Black women, may be at higher risk for vaccine-related menstrual disturbances due to a higher prevalence of conditions like fibroids. The research emphasizes the need for further studies on the effects of COVID-19 vaccines on menstruation, particularly among women of color and those with reproductive health conditions. It also calls for individualized treatment plans to address these potential side effects and prevent serious conditions, such as premature ovarian failure, from being overlooked.
COVID-19 imploded the notion of educational equity, as school closures forced educational institutions to grapple with the equity of specific policies, subsequently reigniting a national and international discourse on systemic racism. Due to the uncertainty and debilitating impact of COVID-19 on schools, testing facilities, students, and the American economy, educational institutions temporarily suspended, staunch rules and institutional norms. Entry and exit exams that would otherwise serve as systemic barricades, historically precluding Black Americans from gaining entrance into the bastions of white privilege, became subject to white reprieves.
