Diabetes common in severe COVID-19 infections
More than one out of three people who have been hospitalized or died from COVID-19 in Bexar County have had diabetes — the most common underlying condition among people who fell severely ill to the disease, according to San Antonio Metro Health data
Since the start of the pandemic, San Antonio officials have warned that the coronavirus would pose the greatest threat to people with existing medical conditions. Data released Wednesday makes that clear: 37 percent of people who were hospitalized or died from COVID-19 in Bexar County since the start of the pandemic had diabetes.
One in five who died had heart disease, and one in 10 had lung disease or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Asthma and obesity were also common conditions among those who fell severely ill or died.
“Any time you have one of these chronic conditions, you
Other budget concerns
In a budget briefing Wednesday afternoon, City Council members weighed whether to pull another $4 million out of the city’s operating fund and earmark it for housing assistance for needy residents, city health programs and incentives for small businesses.
Though the COVID-19 pandemic has put a strain on the city’s budget, the city found the $4 million in revenue from sales taxes and city-owned San Antonio Water System along with savings from nixing a police cadet hiring bonus.
Of that, city staff has proposed $2.5 million go toward the city’s housing assistance program and a program that provides legal counsel to residents facing eviction.
A trio of council members — Roberto Treviño, John Courage and, surprisingly, Clayton Perry — supported the idea of plugging all $4 million into the housing assistance program.
“If this is available to us, we need to give it to the people that need the help now,” said Perry, the council’s lone conservative. “Because that should be our No. 1 priority.”
As it is, the city is expected to burn through its $50 million housing assistance fund, which helps residents with rent and mortgage payments and household costs such as utilities and groceries, by October. The council is set to vote today to reroute about $22 million to the fund from the $191 million stimulus package it approved over the summer.
That amount is expected to keep the housing program humming until late December. How much longer it would last using either an additional $2.5 million or $4 million depends on what limits council members agree to put in place regarding who can receive benefits from the program and for how long.
Nirenberg cautioned council members about putting all of the money in one pot.
“We can’t forget building proper health infrastructure is almost as important as the crisis health response to begin with,” Nirenberg said.
Council members submitted budget amendments totaling $51.3 million for various initiatives and capital projects. Of those, city staff recommended $4 million in spending out of the operating budget and $2.4 million for capital projects.
Among the proposals that didn’t make the cut was one brought by District 3 Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran to give civilian municipal employees a 1 percent cost-of-living wage increase. Under the proposed budget, those employees won’t get a raise for the next two years owning to the pandemic’s effect on the budget.
“They are going through a sacrifice and a struggle right now,” Viagran said.
Walsh shot down the idea, noting it would cost an additional $8.4 million a year as the city is eyeing ways to trim the budget over the next two years. Doing so would also raise the chances of layoffs because of the added cost, Walsh said. are susceptible because your immune system may not be up to par,” said Anita Kurian, the assistant director of Metro Health, during Wednesday’s citycounty briefing.
Like COVID-19, underlying health conditions such as diabetes, obesity and heart disease disproportionately harm the people already grappling with existing inequities in America’s health care system: people of color and those earning lower incomes.
In 2018, nearly 16 percent of Bexar County adults reported that they’d had diabetes at some point in their lives, according to a city survey. The disease is most likely to hit people with less education and lower incomes: Of Bexar County residents making less than $25,000 per year, 27 percent reported having diabetes, compared to only 8 percent of people making more than $50,000 per year.
At the same time, it’s estimated that at least two out of three residents are overweight or obese. Conditions such as obesity and diabetes can be exacerbated by lacking access to healthy foods, while asthma can be worsened by unsafe or dilapidated housing.
“Many of these health conditions are common in San Antonio so you have to wear a mask and keep your physical distance to keep others safe,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said.
He said people between the ages of 20 and 29 account for 21.6 percent of the COVID-19 cases here. Children, meanwhile, make up about 12 percent of cases.
“We do want to remain vigilant, especially among our younger folks,” Nirenberg said.
Nirenberg said Wednesday that coronavirus’ grip on Bexar County is continuing to ease slightly, with three deaths and 153 new cases reported.
The strain on hospitals also continued to lessen, with 210 patients currently hospitalized with COVID-19 — down from 228 the day before. That last time that figure was that low was back in mid-june, before more than 1,200 people sick with the virus flooded San Antonio hospitals over the summer.
Of those hospitalized, 100 are being cared for in intensive care units, and 42 need ventilators to breathe. The new cases reported Wednesday brings Bexar County’s total since the start of the pandemic to 50,284 — roughly 2.5 percent of the county’s population. The death toll stands at 1,022.
In nearby Comal County, government officials reported 34 new confirmed cases Wednesday.
On Wednesday morning, several members of Defund Police SA used a weed whacker and sponges to tidy Zemault’s lawn and porch before his family returned to the house on Willee, near Loma Park Elementary School.
The activists and others washed blood from the sidewalk and moved some cabinets Zemault had been refinishing before police arrived Tuesday.
Neighbors left candles on the steps of Zemault’s walkway and the family placed a portrait of him and his late wife, Susie, on the front porch.
Camille Wright, one of the activists, said the group turned out in solidarity for Zemault’s family. Zemault had three daughters, one son and several grandchildren, friends said.
“Something as simple as flowers and a candle, it’s super powerful,” Wright said.
“I think we’re seeing what community care looks like,” Brown said. “The last thing the family needs to be worried about right now is cleaning up their father’s spilled blood.”