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So when the Black mortality rate from the virus climbed 50% higher than for white people, she saw a connection to the higher rates of diabetes and hypertension in the Black community, which she says is a legacy of systemic racism.
“When we’re seeing rates of diabetes in neighborhoods above 20%, that’s not because people are making a bad decision about what they had for breakfast. It’s because we have neighborhoods that have been ravaged by redlining and poverty that don’t have health food access, and maybe more importantly, are full of junk food and full of tobacco,” Bettigole said.
Preventing chronic health conditions is one of eight areas of focus for the group from the city, medical institutions, colleges and nonprofits that is working to address those disparities.
They also include access to testing, congregate settings, protecting essential workers and community outreach.
Bettigole says the plan also includes better tracking and reporting on the disparities to improve the response.
She says, for example, the city initially thought Hispanic residents were doing better with the disease because the mortality rate was lower than for Black or white residents, but an analysis by age found Hispanic people over 75 have the highest death rate in the city.
“You can’t really solve a problem if you can’t measure it,” she said.
A racial equity response team will meet monthly through the rest of the pandemic to measure the plan’s progress.
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