NEWS BRIEFS: Blacks more likely to die from coronavirus, data show

By Lindsay Street, Statehouse correspondent  | It’s an adage that has hit home in South Carolina during the coronavirus pandemic: “When white folks catch a cold, black folks get pneumonia.” 

Data released by the state’s health agency shows  the coronavirus pandemic is no different. While 41 percent of confirmed coronavirus cases in South Carolina are black people, 56 percent of COVID-19 deaths are of African Americans, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. 

“Hey, that ain’t news,” Orangeburg Democratic Rep. Gilda Cobb Hunter told Statehouse Report this week. “We have got to get serious about addressing inequities in our system.”

The most common underlying health conditions among the COVID-19 dead are heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure — health conditions that disproportionately affect minorities. DHEC released this statement about the racial disparity:

“Underlying medical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, obesity and asthma might make it more likely that African Americans are admitted to the ICU or die from the disease.”

But Cobb Hunter said what’s missing from conversations about the pandemic is “delving into the systemic issues” about why more black and brown people are dying from this disease. Why are they more predisposed to underlying health conditions? 

“To not address why that disparity is there doesn’t address the problem because it’s too difficult for people to talk about and admit that systemic and institutional racism is at the heart,” she said, adding that some will “want to accuse you of playing the race card” for saying that. 

Spartanburg Democratic Rep. Rosalyn Henderson-Myers sent a letter Tuesday to Gov. Henry McMaster to ask for the creation of a task force to address health care in minority communities.

In an online discussion on the pandemic Wednesday, Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina was asked to discuss the disparity in African American outcomes with the disease.

“We have to take a hard look at our educational structure, at our health infrastructure and see what we can to make sure everybody has access and everybody can afford the greatnesses we have in this country,” he said.

In other news: 

Clyburn pushes for states like S.C. to expand Medicaid. As he mourned the death of a cousin Wednesday morning, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn said he will push to “bring in” states like South Carolina that haven’t expanded Medicaid. Read more in our sister publication, Charleston City Paper.

• Related: Columbia Democratic Rep. Kambrell Garvin published an op/ed this week on the need to expand Medicaid. Read it here. 

McMaster offers ‘solution’ for state budget. Gov. Henry McMaster pledged Thursday to call the legislature back to Columbia after the coronavirus pandemic has ebbed so lawmakers wouldn’t feel the pressure to return before the May 14 end of session, when the number of cases in the state could be at their peak. Last week as the House and Senate sought to fund state government and pass disaster aid in a one-day meeting, an argument over whether Santee Cooper should be allowed to enter long-term contracts ate up time, leading to the House to adjourn before addressing the Senate’s resolutions. In response to McMaster’s offer, House Speaker Jay Lucas issued this statement that blamed state-owned utility Santee Cooper: “It is unfortunate that a rogue state agency has put our state in a position where the governor’s actions are necessary.” 

More calls being made for a pandemic task force or czar. Camden Democratic Sen. Vincent Sheheen wrote  an op/ed this week pushing  for a COVID-19 task force days after The Post and Courier  called  for a pandemic czar. In the March 27 issue of Statehouse Report, Orangeburg Democratic Sen. Brad Hutto made a similar request: “We need to revisit how we are managing this,” Hutto said. “It isn’t just going to (go on ) for three days and gone … It’s multifaceted. So I think the governor should task a czar or somebody who’s got a more comprehensive background in all of state government to manage us through the pandemic. He can’t micromanage all of this himself.”

Suicide prevention coalition urges S.C. to call. Lexington Republican Sen. Katrina Shealy, who co-chairs the S.C. Suicide Prevention Coalition, told Statehouse Report she is worried about the state’s high anxiety coupled with rising gun and liquor sales. The coalition published a letter urging South Carolinians feeling a need to self harm to call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or text “Home” to 741741. If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, you can also reach out to the S.C. Department of Mental Health’s crisis response line at 833-364-2274.

• Have a comment?  Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com