ST. LOUIS – The COVID pandemic has left a devastating trail of serious problems in black communities.

dr Kendra Holmes, President and CEO of Affinia Healthcare, says that as a result of the problems caused by COVID, there has been a large increase in cases of mental illness and increases in anxiety and drug overdoses.

She says black and brown communities have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic. The lion’s share of COVID deaths have occurred in minority communities. That means minorities have lost more family members than anyone else. In some cases, COVID has wiped out many members of the same family, including mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers.

According to a study, anxiety among African Americans increases by 5% and suicidal thoughts by 9%. Overdoses in black men have increased by over 200%.

Often the main breadwinners in families have been killed by COVID and this has had a huge economic impact.

The St. Louis area is still grappling with COVID. Positive test rates may be high, but deaths have remained flat and hospital admissions have not skyrocketed, partly due to advances such as vaccines and booster shots.

according to dr According to Holmes, one of the biggest problems in minority communities is the lack of access to proper medical care, making them more vulnerable to problems during pandemics.

Mayors in northern St. Louis County have joined forces to urge the state to allocate more resources to address the mental health problems in minority communities that have been exacerbated by COVID. They often say it is an ignored issue that can contribute to a variety of problems such as: B. Violent Crimes.

https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/you-paid-for-it-protecting-vulnerable-communities-during-pandemic-and-beyond/ They paid for it: protecting vulnerable communities during the pandemic and beyond