Poverty and the pandemic

Guests: Elinore Kaufman, Ana Diez Roux, Roy Wade

Poverty makes people far more vulnerable to the coronavirus pandemic and its economic repercussions. Philadelphia has among the highest poverty rate of any American city, with 26% of residents living below the poverty line. This hour we look at how low-income people are being disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.  We’ll talk with ROY WADE, a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and ANA DIEZ ROUX, Dean and professor of epidemiology at the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University about the outbreak’s toll on poor communities. But first, we look at why shootings in Philadelphia haven’t declined, despite drops in other crimes during the pandemic. University of Pennsylvania trauma surgeon ELINORE KAUFMAN discusses the collision course between victims of gun violence and COVID-19 in emergency rooms.