King County, The ‘Initial Epicenter Of COVID-19’ In The U. S., Spent Money To Ensure Equitable Outcomes For Diverse … – Seattle Medium

By Barrington Salmon and Hazel Trice Edney, The Seattle Medium

When the COVID-19 pandemic slammed the United States in March 2020, it cut a wide and deadly swathe across the country. It overwhelmed medical infrastructures in major cities as well as towns, hamlets and villages in between. And as usual people of color were the hardest hit.

In that regard, King County, Washington (Seattle) became nationally known as Americas epicenter of COVID-19, largely because it had the first known COVID-19 case and the first large outbreak, prompting King County officials to lead the way in calls that resulted in national restrictions to help contain the virus. Also, observing the rapid spread and the racial disparities in sickness and death, King Countys public health officials agreed with outcries from the community and declared that Racism is a Public Health Crisis, an initiative by several other cities across the nation that was declared and started in King County in June 2020.

In 2022, the Racism is A Public Health Crisis Initiative will embark on a community-led process, called the Gathering Collaborative, to equitably allocate $25 million to start to undo the harms of racism compounded by the pandemic, influence the countys 2023-24 budget cycle to prioritize and reflect anti-racism and pro-equity investments, and form a multi-generational vision for King County to become an anti-racist government, KingCounty.gov explained on its Equity, Racial and Social Justice page.

Three years after the COVID pandemic started, a King County Recovery Plan posted on KingCounty.gov, reports that by the end of 2022, the county had received more than $2 billion in federal funding in response to the pandemic of which $437 million were flexible funds to help with public health, economic recovery, community resiliency, homelessness and housing, jobs, and county operations.

King County has received over $2 billion in federal funding in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding streams include FEMA emergency funding and several waves of funding provided through federal legislation. The county has utilized the funding based on the federal program requirements and according to local priorities, the Recovery Plan states.

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In an emailed response to a reporters questions, Public Health Seattle King County spokeswoman Kate Cole stated that, so far, nearing the final week of 2023, nearly $364 million 18 percent of that $2 billion had been spent by Public Health Seattle King County. Public Health Seattle King County is described on KingCounty.gov as the department that works to protect and improve the health and well-being of all people in King County.

Weve spent nearly $364M responding to the COVID pandemic from 2020 to-date, with most of this funding coming from federal COVID assistance funds, Cole wrote in an email. Among the variety of funding pots was the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act that was divided between states around the nation.

In deciding how to allocate and spend this money (as well as other department funds, including those not for COVID) weve worked to reduce health disparities by race and place, Cole wrote in the email. So, for example, when deciding where to cite COVID vaccine and testing sites, we intentionally chose parts of the county with the largest BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, People of Color] populations, highest rates of COVID, lowest vaccination rates, and lowest concentrations of vaccination providers.

To execute the Countys plan, the Office of Equity and Social Justice (OESJ) worked closely with the Budget Office and has launched an array of funding and contracting opportunities available to community. Officials said the direct investments came from federal money provided by the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (CLFR) which is part of the AmericanRescue Plan.

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According to King County Executive Dow Constantine, the goal was to tie grants with priorities identified by various communities with the goal being an equitable recovery and strategically position these resources to meet the urgent needs of our communities.

Some of the programs are the Digital Equity Grants which allocated $2 million in grants to 29 local groups and organizations focused on promoting digital equity and provide services to communities that were disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and which also have traditionally faced racial and other barriers which has blocked their access to digital services such as internet connectivity, digital literacy and tech devices.

King County directed $1.75 million in its Strategic Communications Campaign to equitably increase awareness of and access to its Revive and Thrive programs, grants, contracts, and support services available. The county hired community-based media outlets and organizations to conceptualize, plan and implement a mix-media campaign intended to reach communities most impacted by COVID-19 and racism.

The following is a breakdown, listed in the King County Recovery Plan, telling how King County used much of the COVID money:

Homelessness response $97 million forprograms including hotel/motel leases, COVID-19 shelter de-intensification, permanent supportive housing, behavioral health services, homeless outreach and shelter procurement, enhanced shelter, and sanitation.

Public health response $68 million for equity in vaccinations; tests; testing sites; testing site personnel; mask access;

Equitable economic recovery $60 millionfor providing support to businesses, the creative economy, and the tourism sector, as well as workforce development programs.

Community resiliency $56 million for community resources; especially for communities of color, LGBTQ+ communities, people experiencing homelessness, and refugee/immigrant communities.

Jobs and Housing $33 million

County operations $154 million

Despite the multi-millions of dollars that have already been spent, a 23-year King County employee who helped to pioneer the countys long-time struggle to bring racial health equity, now says the COVID funds are on course for possible budget cuts with hopes that the scalpel will cut only programs that hurt rather than help the fight against racism as a public health crisis.

We are faced with some budget challenges right now as we speak and having to also make some cuts, said Matas Valenzuela, Phd, director of the Office of Equity and Community Partnerships, Public Health Seattle & King County, in an interview. So, we are not going to have that same level.

With his longevity in dealing with issues of racism long before COVID, Valenzuela explained the vision and concept behind racism as a public health crisis as being like a chain affect.

We see it in the data, we see it in the numbers, which communities get most impacted in terms of where we see the deaths, where we see the hospitalizations, where we see the cases, he said. So, why are certain people being hospitalized at greater levels?

He said the answer is sometimes underlying conditions and chronic diseases like diabetes or heart disease. But drivers for those diseases are often because many people live in food deserts, where they dont have healthy foods like fruits and vegetables. The lack of healthy meals increases their chances of having chronic diseases.

We also know the toxic impact that racism has on peoples health. It produces the constant stress; it produces cortisol in the body that has a negative impact in our system and is more likely to lead to chronic diseases such as diabetes, Valenzuela said.

And then there are the things that happen in societies that dictate that someone who lives in this community, in this zip code which is heavily Black and brown is going to have more disease, is going to die earlier; and the things, including having less access to education; having less access to good-paying jobs. All those things contribute to having worse outcomes,he said.

Valenzuela says its already a real challenge in King Countys public health system and nationally to administer public health on the level that is necessary.

Its kind of boom and bust for us right now when there are periods when we can have resources to really respond to an issue and then we go to periods in which we dont have the level of resources to respond to something like COVID.

He said anti-racism will be the overarching driver for his departments next strategic plan. He listed key issues such as climate and health; homelessness; over-dose prevention; and gun violence as being among the priorities. He said the plan will aim to make sure were using a racial equity approach as we do all of that work even if we may be doing it with limited funds.

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King County, The 'Initial Epicenter Of COVID-19' In The U. S., Spent Money To Ensure Equitable Outcomes For Diverse ... - Seattle Medium