>Corresponding Author : Viroj Wiwanitkit
>Article Type : Editorial Article
>Volume : 2 | Issue : 1
>Received Date : 21 January, 2022
>Accepted Date : 28 January, 2022
>Published Date : 30 January, 2022
>DOI : https://doi.org/10.54289/JVVD2200104
>Citation : : Wiwanitkit V. (2022) Health Equality as Global Public Health Concern in the Current COVID-19 Pandemic Situation. J Virol Viral Dis 2(1): doi https://doi.org/10.54289/JVVD2200104
>Copyright : © 2022 Wiwanitkit V. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Editorial Article | Open Access
Honorary Professor, Dr DY Patil University, Pune, India; Visiting Professor, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, China
*Corresponding author: Viroj Wiwanitkit, Honorary Professor, Dr DY Patil University, Pune, India; Visiting Professor, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, China
Editorial
When all members of society have a fair and equal opportunity to be as healthy as possible, this is known as health equality. Health equality can be achieved by focusing public health policies and services on the individual needs of communities. It is an important concern on global public health. The concern on this issue is also raised during the COVID-19 pandemic. The epidemic of COVID-19 has brought social and racial injustice and disparity to the foreground of public health. It has demonstrated that health equality is still a work in progress, as COVID-19 has disproportionately affected numerous racial and ethnic minority groups, putting them at greater risk of becoming ill and dying as a result of the virus. People of different skin color from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences are included in the term "racial and ethnic minority groups. Many persons in these groups have had negative experiences, and some social determinants of health have long been overlooked.
COVID-19 is clearly more vulnerable to racial/ethnic minorities and those with poor socioeconomic level; consequently, public health authorities, practitioners, and clinicians should be aware of these disparities and work to close the gap by focusing on vulnerable populations [1]. The COVID-19 health crisis has disproportionately impacted low-income and racial and ethnic minority groups, who have historically been underrepresented in health care and public health [2].
Currently, the issues are also of concerned for mass vaccination. According to the previous report [3], ethnic minority status was related with higher vaccine reluctance and lower vaccine uptake. Mistrust of institutional services, a lack of information regarding the vaccine's safety, misinformation, inaccessible communications, and logistical challenges were among the obstacles [3]. Inclusive communications that address vaccine concerns through trusted communicators, as well as enhanced media awareness of minority ethnic communities, were facilitators [3]. Using trusted and collaborative community and healthcare networks, community engagement is used to meet the problems and informational needs of minority ethnic communities [3].
It is no doubt that health equality, as human rights, should be the main focus for any public health manipulation, regardless of COVID-19 pandemic or not. It is not only a legal concern but ethical issue for mankind.
Conflict of interest
None
References:
- Khanijahani A, Iezadi S, Gholipour K, Azami-Aghdash S, Naghibi D. (2021) A systematic review of racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in COVID-19. Int J Equity Health. 20(1): 248. [Ref.]
- Shaw J, Brewer LC, Veinot T. (2021) Recommendations for Health Equity and Virtual Care Arising From the COVID-19 Pandemic: Narrative Review. JMIR Form Res. 5(4): e23233. [PubMed.]
- Kamal A, Hodson A, Pearce JM. (2021) A Rapid Systematic Review of Factors Influencing COVID-19 Vaccination Uptake in Minority Ethnic Groups in the UK. Vaccines (Basel). 9(10):1121. [Ref.]
