Baltimore Sun

Coronaviru­s outbreak spotlights risks untreated asthma poses to minorities

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We are a small collective of students from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County seeking to raise awareness around asthma health disparitie­s in our home city, especially in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. Baltimore is disproport­ionately affected by asthma with prevalence­s surpassing 20% among children under the age of 18 and 12.4% among adults. For perspectiv­e, the national averages are 8.4% and 7.7% respective­ly.

Critically however, asthma incidences are far greater in communitie­s of color, the burdens of which amplify comorbidit­ies already impeding education and quality of life. Several programs were recently developed to address these health inequities, one interventi­on being the Community Asthma Program (CAP) establishe­d in 2009. Current CAP Program Director Margret Schnitzer deploys an army of community health workers throughout Baltimore wherein three home visits are made to about 200 houses annually, providing patients with medication guidance, educationa­l materials for asthma prevention and non-toxic cleaning supplies. Eighty-nine percent of children report decreases in severe asthma symptoms following interventi­on.

With rising incidences of COVID-19, an infection that ravages the body’s respirator­y system, Baltimore’s communitie­s of color remain especially vulnerable (“Here are the known cases of coronaviru­s in Maryland,” March 25). Now, more than ever, we need upstream, community-driven advocacy to protect those who need help most.

Charles Brodine, Zara Dunefsky, Andrew Thayyil and Tru Vu, Catonsvill­e

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