Health literacy resources on inequities & for non-English speakers

This article is part of a series of COVID-19 resources on health equity.

The resources provided are designed to improve access to critical information about COVID-19 and raise awareness about health equity in the context of COVID-19. The resources include insights to the longstanding systemic issues that contribute to these health inequities. In addition, we highlight actions and tools that can be used to advance health equity at multiple levels including patient focused resources and policy level actionable insights.

1. CDC COVID-19 cases in the U.S.

2. John Hopkins COVID-19 tracker

3. Coronavirus checker: Check your risk for COVID-19

4. Social distancing scoreboard 

5. ESRI: COVID-19 maps, resources and insights 

6. CUNY-SPH COVID-19 tracking survey 

7. Strategies to provide equitable care during COVID-19 infographic (PDF)

8. Project ECHO takes on the COVID-19 pandemic

1. COVID-19 Health Literacy Project 

2. COVID-19 guidelines: CDC’s general recommendations for coronavirus prevention translated into the most common languages in the U.S.

3. EMBARC COVID-19 resources in ethnic languages from Burma including Hakha Chin, Mizo Chin, Karenni, Karen and Burmese

   Information will also be provided in Kirundi, Kunama, Lingala, French and Swahili.

4. New Hampshire government has resources in eight languages

   Includes a video in American Sign Language (ASL).

5. Washington’s Department of Health offers information in 15 languages

1. COVID-19 en Español

   Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

2. Qué hacer si está enfermo

   Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

3. Cómo mantener seguro el lugar de trabajo (PDF)

   Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

4. Kit de herramientas para los medios sociales

   Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

5. Use una cubierta de tela para la cara para ayudar a desacelerar la propagación del COVID-19

   Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

6. New Latino-focused bilingual campaign: Juntos, we can stop COVID-19!

   Salud America!

7. APHA releases Spanish language COVID-19 guide

   American Public Health Association (APHA)

8. ¿Qué es el MIS-C? (PDF)

   Illinois Unidos

9. ¿Cómo puedo proteger a mi hijo? (PDF)

   Illinois Unidos

10. ¿Cómo protejo la salud de mi hijo? (PDF)

    Illinois Unidos

11. Vacuna COVID: ¿Cómo funciona la vacuna COVID? (PDF)

    Illinois Unidos

12. Vacuna COVID: He oído este rumor acerca de la vacuna del COVID. ¿Es cierto? (PDF)

    Illinois Unidos

1. How medical jargon can make COVID health disparities even worse

2. It’s not obesity, it’s slavery

   NY Times: Free registration is required to view content.

3. Will protests set off a second wave of COVID-19?

   NY Times: Free registration is required to view content.

4. Police violence makes COVID-19 worse for Black Americans

5. Institutional racism, inequity fuel high minority death toll from coronavirus

6. Peeling back this pandemic’s layers of inequality

7. It was clear COVID-19 would hit Black people hard yet experts stayed silent

8. Officials in the largest county in Ohio say racism is a public health crisis fueling COVID-19 inequities

9. Our food system is very much modeled on plantation economics

10. Structural racism responsible for high rate of deaths amongst Blacks in Chicago

11. How racial health disparities will play out in the pandemic

12. In 1918 and 2020, race colors America’s response to epidemics

13. US: Address impact of COVID-19 on poor; virus outbreak highlights structural inequalities

14. Why Black Americans face an uphill battle against the coronavirus 

15. The coronavirus doesn't discriminate, but U.S. health care showing familiar biases 

16. Coronavirus disease discriminates. Our health care doesn't have to

17. COVID-19: The painful price of ignoring health inequities 

18. Hospitals have left many COVID-19 patients who don’t speak English alone, confused and without proper care

19. Social distancing enforcement disparities

20. Chicago police only arrested people for social distancing violations on the south and west sides, data shows

21. Chicago teachers have not connected with 2,200 students mostly Black and Latino students since COVID-19 school closures

22. The coronavirus pandemic is hitting Black and Brown Americans especially hard on all fronts

23. ‘It’s the Death Towers’: How the Bronx became New York’s virus hot spot

    NY Times: Free registration is required to view content.

24. COVID-19: The mental health impact on people of color and minority groups

25. The COVID-19 recession is the most unequal in modern U.S. history

    Publication subscription is required for full or unlimited access.

26. How the pandemic is widening the racial wealth gap

27. As pandemic deaths add up racial disparities persist and, in some cases, worsen

28. Why Blacks, Indigenous and other people of color experience greater harm during pandemic

29. Coronavirus kills far more Hispanic and Black children than White youths, CDC study finds

    Washington Post: Publication subscription is required for full or unlimited access.

30. There is a higher prevalence of COVID-19 risk factors in historically “redlined” neighborhoods

31. U.S. Deep South racism poverty fuel coronavirus pandemic

32. Hate crimes fuel against Americans of color during the pandemic

1. CDC COVID-19 in racial and ethnic minority groups

2. CDC COVID-19 people with disabilities 

3. Health equity principles for state and local leaders responding to COVID-19

4. Strategies to provide equitable care during COVID-19 (PDF)

5. Poor People’s Campaign pushes for COVID-19 relief

6. COVID-19 Health Justice Advisory Committee statement

7. COVID-19 racial equity & social justice resources

8. COVID-19: Using a racial justice lens now to transform our future

9. Ten equity implications of the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak in the United States: The imperative for civil rights advocacy, monitoring and enforcement

10. Unidos US: COVID-19

11. How to save Black and Hispanic lives in a pandemic: Minorities are dying of COVID-19 at alarming rates. Here’s what to do about it right now.

    NY Times: Free registration is required to view content.

12. The hardest hit: Who is supporting communities of color during COVID-19?

13. COVID-19 digital repository for housing policies

14. COVID-19: Investing in Black lives and livelihoods

15. Jason Rosenfield: Using healthcare messaging to inform his community about coronavirus

16. COVID-19 fail to meet health literacy guidelines

1. We need equity-oriented solutions to COVID-19, not stigma, discrimination and fear

2. The coronavirus pandemic is fueling fear and hate across America 

3. COVID-19 and circuits of capital

4. Racism in the time of COVID-19

1. National Academies launch study on equitable allocation of a COVID-19 vaccine

2. Resources for COVID-19 Vaccine Equity

   Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

3. COVID-19 vaccine equity: Best practices for community and faith-based organizations (PDF)

   Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

4. What does vaccine inequality look like?

   National Public Radio (NPR)

5. Latest data on COVID-19 vaccinations race/ethnicity

   KFF

6. Rethinking vaccine hesitancy among minority groups

   The Lancet

7. California thinks it can stop COVID by flooding poor areas with vaccine. Will it work?

   SF Gate

8. How Chicago’s vaccine rollout is inhibited by longstanding inequality

   The Guardian

9. Pandemic’s racial disparities persist in vaccine rollout

   NY Times: Free registration is required to view content.

10. Black and Latino Americans confront many challenges to vaccinations

    NY Times: Free registration is required to view content.

11. Black and Latino Chicagoans want the vaccine—they’re just struggling to find it, health experts say

    Clock Club Chicago

12. Latinos want COVID vaccines but can’t take time off

    AXIOS Yahoo

13. Many unvaccinated Latinos in the U.S. want the shot, new survey finds

    NY Times: Free registration is required to view content.

14. How does the COVID vaccine work? (PDF)

    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

15. Resources for COVID-19 Vaccine Equity

    Illinois Unidos

16. I heard this rumor about the COVID vaccine. Is it true? (PDF)

    Illinois Unidos

17. The Public Health Alliance Vaccine Equity Video series: Promising & actionable practices for local health departments

18. Rural COVID-19 vaccine resources

    1. National Rural Health Association

Visit the COVID-19  health equity resources overview page or view featured topics for more resources:

• AMA and Center for Health Equity resources on COVID-19
• The role of data collection in the COVID-19 pandemic
• Impact of COVID-19 on minoritized and marginalized communities
• COVID-19 FAQs: Health equity in a pandemic

With an increased number of people reporting worsening mental health in recent years, it is imperative that people are aware of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline) telephone program.

People experiencing a suicidal, substance use, and/or mental health crisis, or any other kind of emotional distress can call, chat or text 988, and speak to trained crisis counselors. The national hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The previous National Suicide Prevention Lifeline phone number (1-800-273-8255) will continue to be operational and route calls to 988 indefinitely.