Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Hotez, Peter J
• Huete-Perez, Jorge A
• Bottazzi, Maria Elena
• Gomez-Duarte, Oscar Gilberto

Titel

COVID-19 in the Americas and the erosion of human rights for the poor

Ist Teil von

• PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2020-12, Vol.14 (12), p.e0008954-e0008954

Ort / Verlag

United States: Public Library of Science

Erscheinungsjahr

2020

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and its regional office in the Americas, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), as of August 2020, more than one-half (54%) of the world’s COVID-19 cases and most of the deaths (75%) have occurred in the Americas, led by the United States and Brazil as the 2 most affected countries, followed by Colombia, Peru, Argentina, and Mexico (Fig 1) [1]. Among the reasons commonly cited are the difficulties of social distancing in crowded urban areas [2], lack of access to healthcare or public health messaging, requirements for essential workers to continue employment in high-risk settings, the particular susceptibilities of indigenous populations [3], and the high rates of underlying non-communicable diseases among the poor, including diabetes and hypertension [4]. Through the White House Coronavirus Task Force under the leadership of US Vice President Mike Pence, except for some backup emergency support, manufacturing of protective equipment and ventilators, and supply-chain management, the efforts to contain the epidemic in the US have been mostly left to states or local authorities. [...]the US accounts for approximately one-quarter of the pandemic in terms of new cases and a significant percentage of deaths [1].