Three Asian American US senators to introduce resolution condemning bias vs. AAPI

From left: Senators Kamala Harris, Mazie Hirono and Tammy Duckworth.

All three Asian Americans in the US Senate intend to introduce a resolution condemning the rising attacks against AAPI and Asian immigrants by bigots who blame them for the coronavirus.
US Senators Kamala D. Harris, D-CA, Tammy Duckworth, D-IL, and Mazie Hirono, D-HI, announced their plan Thursday.

“There have been disturbing reports of increased profiling, intimidation, or hate towards Asian-Americans and Asian immigrants during the COVID-19 crisis – this is inexcusable,” said Harris. “Let’s be clear: COVID-19 does not target any group by race or ethnicity. We must condemn any instance of racism or discrimination, wherever it exists.”

Recent reports show anti-Asian sentiment has increased since the COVID-19 crisis began. According to an FBI intelligence report, hate crimes against Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities are likely to surge as COVID-19 continues to spread. 

Representative Grace Meng, D-NY, introduced the companion resolution in the House last week.

“After Donald Trump’s inappropriate and racist efforts to ‘rebrand’ this disease, we continue to see a spike in rhetoric and actions against the Asian American community because of misguided fears surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak,” said Duckworth. 

“We must continue to speak out against these racist acts and those who are stoking these fears about a virus that we know strikes without regard to the color of a person’s skin or the language they speak. I’m proud to be introducing this important resolution with Senator Harris, Senator Hirono and Representative Meng.”

“Inflammatory and racist rhetoric from officials at the highest level of our government has contributed to a disturbing rise in hate-crimes targeting Asian Americans,” said Hirono. “Calling COVID-19 the ‘Wuhan virus’, ‘Kung flu’, or ‘Chinese virus’ isn’t clever or funny, it’s wrong and deeply harmful. This resolution sends a clear message of solidarity that stoking racial divisions will only impede our efforts to overcome the immense challenges that this virus poses to our country.”

“Asian Americans, like millions of others across the nation, are fighting on the frontlines against the COVID-19 pandemic. They also share in the extreme concern for their health and economic security," said Meng. "Yet, so many Asian Americans are also living in fear and terror following the dramatic increase of threats and attacks against those of Asian descent. 

"Since the beginning of this public health crisis, I have called on our nation’s leaders, such as our President, to cease using terms like ‘Chinese virus,’ ‘Wuhan virus,’ and ‘Kung-flu.’ Such language is reckless and downright disgusting,” she said.

“I was grateful to be joined by over 120 of my colleagues in the House of Representatives in introducing H.Res.908 to highlight this incessant and harmful rhetoric, and denounce those who would take advantage of this tumultuous time to slander and abuse the Asian American community," Meng continued.

"COVID-19 distinguishes neither race, ethnicity, class, nor any aspect of one’s background. It’s imperative that we all have the singular focus to prioritize the public safety and health of each and every person."

The resolution is endorsed by Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO), Muslim Advocates, Oxfam, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC), Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF), and National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF).

Full text of the resolution can be found here.

Filipino American nurses say hospitals ill-prepared for coronavirus pandemic

NATIONAL NURSES UNITED

Nurse Bonnie Castillo, executive director of National Nurses United.

When the novel coronavirus hit California, Jamille Cabacungan, a Filipino American registered nurse at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center, rushed to sign up as a volunteer to treat infected patients. 

She hesitated to answer, however, when asked recently about her training for that job.

The hospital is providing the necessary gear, she said, and more heightened training for some nurses. But not for all, and much of her training is coming from videos forwarded to her by the hospital, as opposed to hands-on learning-by-doing. 

Her colleagues are depending on her — “we don’t want to put our pregnant coworkers or those who live with elderly people at risk,” she added — but the preparation is less intense than she expected, considering the risk involved.

As California’s coronavirus strategy has moved from containment to mitigation, the health care workers on the first line of response to the epidemic are also finding themselves on the front line of potential infection. 

The frontline caregivers are also begging for more protective gear, said Zenei Cortez, one of the presidents of the California Nurses Assciation/National Nurses United.

Health care workers are begging for personal protective equipment (PPE) to help them care for sick patients without contracting coronavirus. Cortez, a Fililpino American, told MSNBC  that "it's not too much to ask our administration to give us what we need to safely take care of our patients."

RELATED: Why are there so many Filipino nurses in the US?

PPE, which includes masks, gloves, headgear and clothing, is quickly being used. Reports from Washington state, which has the greatest number of deaths from the virus, nurses have resorted to using bandannas for a lack of face masks.

National Nurses United (NNU), the largest union of registered nurses in the United States, today called on an embattled nation to dramatically ramp up health care capacity in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Imagine we were at war. We are—with a pandemic,” said Bonnie Castillo, RN.executive director of the Oakland-based NNU.

The Filipino American nurse noted the warning last week by a panel of leading immunologists, epidemiologists, and infectious disease researchers at the University of California San Francisco which predicted 40 to 70 percent of the US population will be infected over the next 12 to 18 months.

“With a 1 percent mortality rate, the panel predicted up to 1.6 million people could die. That’s more than the total of all Americans who have died in all US wars,” said Castillo. “Yet our health care capacity is far short of what we need to respond to this national emergency.”

At present, Castillo noted, the amount of optimal personal protective equipment needed for nurses and other health care workers, is “drastically short of what is needed to stem the danger of becoming infected and exposing patients, family members, and other health care staff.”

“Instead of rolling back standards, as the Centers for Disease Control and the American Hospital Association are proposing, we need to substantially increase the supply of the highest standard of protective equipment. That includes powered air purifying respirators, N95 respirators, and other proper protective clothing and gear,” Castillo said.

One immediate step, she noted, should be the coordinated release and distribution of all state and federal stockpiles of PPE for nurses and health care workers.

“For too long, ‘just-in-time’ hospital management practices have prioritized profits over stocking enough supplies and staffing enough nurses to safely care for patients, and this has eroded the ability of our nation’s hospitals to properly prepare for emergencies like pandemics.

Level 3 Personal Protective Equipment provides maximum protection.

Cortez told Rachel Maddow on MSNBC that California Gov. Gavin Newsom says there are over 20,000 respirators being distributed but "Where are they?" asks Cortez.

“We should also prioritize testing and paid quarantine for nurses and other healthcare workers who are exposed, to prevent the further spread of the virus and to meet the demand of a surge,” said Castillo.

Various scenarios project up to 21 million people in the United States may need hospitalization, at a time when the country has only 925,000 hospital beds—less than half the per capita-rate of comparable countries. And if nurses and other health care workers are not protected, nurses emphasize, the hospital beds will not be staffed.

The shortage extends to ventilators, negative pressure isolation rooms, and intensive care beds, critical for treating COVID-19 patients. 

To expand health care capacity, NNU recommends the following steps:  

• Re-open all hospitals closed in the past five years (more than 120 since 2015), many of them in medically underserved communities. Bar the closure of any additional hospitals. 
• Convert some current consumer production to medical equipment, as China has done, including ventilators and the highest standard level of personal protective equipment for health care workers. At the onset of World War II, the Roosevelt Administration directed auto factories to immediately shift from car production to making tanks, airplane engines and other war materials.   
• Fund construction of new hospitals and other medical facilities, including community health centers, and mass production facilities for personal protective equipment and ventilators, which will also create employment opportunities at a time when many are losing jobs due to the virus-related economic crisis. 
• Implement immediate free medical education and training in public colleges and high schools for new registered nurses and other health care workers, without lowering licensing or professional standards.