SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — Advocates for the Filipino community say they are being left out of targeted resources used to help fight COVID-19 in San Diego County. The Filipino Resource Center says Filipinos are the 2nd largest ethnic group in the county, but they haven’t received the outreach that some other groups have when it comes to fighting coronavirus.
Filipinos make up nearly half of all Asian Pacific Islanders in San Diego County, according to the Filipino Resource Center. They’re also close to 20% of hospital and nursing home workers, putting them more at risk for contracting the virus. The Center’s Director JoAnn Fields says they need infection rate data from the county targeting Filipinos to show how much they’re being impacted.
“Filipinos are residing in the areas that have the higher incidents of COVID-19. Therefore, we would like outreach to be in language from trusted voices in our community so they can receive the information: where to get vaccinated, where to get treated, where to get tested,” Fields said.
Fields says Filipinos, like some other groups, have a high number of cases of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and other underlying medical conditions that intensify the impact of COVID-19. She says the lack of resources is increasing the level of anxiety and devastating the Filipino community.
“In just my network of friends in the month of January, four prominent leaders have passed away due to COVID-19. Within my family, we have COVID-19 positives. My cousins are afraid to be around their moms. They’re nurses and they’re exposed to COVID-19, so they’re scared,” Fields said.
She says the Resource Center has already created a Filipino COVID-19 task force and ultimately, they’d like to partner with the San Diego Public Heath Department to have testing and vaccination sites more accessible in their community.
CBS 8 reached out to the San Diego County Public Health Department Wednesday afternoon about the Filipino community’s concerns, but have not heard back from them yet. For more information about COVID-19 testing and vaccinations, go here: San Diego County Coronavirus Information
