Thread by @rohankhaz

1/ In @OWHnews @OWHopinion this morning, @DrJRMarcelin & I call for racial/ethnic #COVID19 data reporting in Nebraska.

We are currently the ONLY state reporting ZERO state-level demographics. Short thread about why this is a #HealthEquity nightmare 🧵👇🏾

omaha.com/opinion/midlan…

2/ @AmerMedicalAssn's Center for Health Equity has followed state demographic reporting. 46 states currently report race/ethnicity, 49 report age, and 48 report gender.

This is a map on which #GoBigRed #GBR has a less than ideal meaning for Nebraska.

ama-assn.org/delivering-car…

3/ Being a flyover state doesn't render us immune to inequity. Data from Douglas County (includes most of Omaha) shows disproportionate case incidence among Hispanic, Black, and Asian patients despite our county being ~70% non-Hispanic & White...

dogis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashbo…

4/ ...and in Lancaster County (includes Lincoln, NE) data reported yesterday in @OWHNews revealed a MASSIVE disparity among the county's Asian population (which includes a number of Karen, Nepali, and Vietnamese immigrant/refugee groups).

omaha.com/livewellnebras…

5/ Nebraska is among the highest per capita infection rates in the COUNTRY due to recent outbreaks in Hall, Dawson, and Dakota County at rural meatpacking plants -- and we know that these plants employ many Latino, Sudanese, Somali, Vietnamese immigrants.

https://twitter.com/MaddowBlog/status/1258588355450867712?s=20

6/ If we want to address rural & urban health inequities, we need to be data-driven. Dr. Nancy Krieger, @gregggonsalves, @DrMaryTBassett, @BillHanage, & @hmkyale highlighted weeks ago in @HealthAffairs that data collection is a CRUCIAL first step.

healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hbl…

7/ At the end of the day, disparities researchers & health care professionals like @DrJRMarcelin are working tirelessly to ensure we care for our most vulnerable neighbors.

We're counting on our elected officials to do the same & keep #NebraskaStrong for all of us.