User:Megmcquillen/Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, a major concern amongst the American population has been the rapid proliferation of the virus. This fear, promoted by skewed media coverage, has manifested in more frequent acts of xenophobia and racism towards the Asian-American community in the United States. COVID-19 originated in China and by proxy Chinese and Asian Americans were subjected to a large rise in hate crimes and instances of xenophobia and racism. In 2020 alone, law enforcement in NYC observed a ninefold increase in the number of hate crimes reported by Asian-Americans; in Los Angeles County, these hate crimes have increased by 15%. A hate crime can come in many forms, including verbal harassment, shunning, physical assault, civil rights violations, online harassment, and more. These hate crimes are having greater effects on the Asian American community in the U.S., as many are facing workplace discrimination and are losing their jobs. Additionally, the perpetration of discrimination via online sources, social media, and more has allowed hate crimes to become increasingly “common, uncontrolled and unreported.” These actions have immense and detrimental impacts to the safety, mental health, and security of the victims, as well as growing feelings of isolation and fear.

Historical Context of Xenophobia and Racism Towards Asian Americans
Overall, these attacks represent a continuation of xenophobic attacks on Chinese Americans that has gone on for over 150 years. The pandemic has brought to light the ways in which older and persistent ideas of Orientalism, or the prominent idea of the 18th and 19th centuries that those of European descent are better than non-Europeans, as well as white supremacy continue to influence the actions of many individuals. The COVID-19 pandemic has allowed for the continued and exacerbated “othering” of the Asian-American community, where they have been scapegoated and related to danger and fear because of their race.

Impacts of Xenophobia and Racism Towards Asian Americans
The social impacts of racism and xenophobia towards the Asian-American community in the U.S. have had far reaching consequences. For example, a survey conducted in San Francisco found that only 3% of Asian-American residents had been tested for COVID-19, many of whom cited fears of racism and stigma as major contributors to their avoidance of such resources. In turn, Asian American health has been disproportionately challenged by the virus, as a study by Chan et al. from Cambridge University found, “that while Asian Americans make up a small proportion of COVID-19 deaths in the USA, they experience significantly higher excess all-cause mortality (3.1 times higher), case fatality rate (as high as 53% higher), and percentage of deaths attributed to COVID-19 (2.1 times higher) compared to non-Hispanic Whites.” This speaks to a high burden of disease amongst the Asian American population that is then compounded by horrific acts of racism and xenophobia.

It is of note that early on in the pandemic, Asian Americans were often left out of the conversation on health disparities. Due to a lot of factors, such as lack of trust, language barriers, limited funding, and ultimately “covert and overt forms of racism” at play towards the community, there is a lack of ongoing Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) research related to the particular disparities they face. This gap in recognition of health disparities burden for the community and research is a potential space for improvement moving forward.

To address the disparities faced by the Asian American community, President Joe Biden issued an executive order to ban terminology such as “china virus” and “kung flu” that perpetuate harmful stereotypes and fuel fear-based discrimination. Additionally, President Biden signed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act into law on May 20th, 2021, which allows for expedited reviews of hate crimes at the Department of Justice and provides grants for improving reporting systems at the state level. Furthermore, states such as California have allocated millions of dollars to increase data collection and support advocacy efforts.