2020-05-05 16:30:57

Navajo Nation Suffers Third-Highest COVID-19 Infection Rate in U.S. with Limited Healthcare & Water

Democracy Now! gets an update from two doctors treating patients with the Navajo Nation, the largest Indigenous reservation in the country, which has been hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

Dr. Michelle Tom is a member of the Navajo Nation and a family physician treating COVID-19 patients at the Winslow Indian Health Care Center and Little Colorado Medical Center in northern Arizona near the Navajo reservation.

In Gallup, New Mexico, Dr. Sriram Shamasunder is leading a medical volunteer group of 21 nurses and doctors from the University of California, San Francisco as part of the HEAL Initiative.

He says the coronavirus hit harder on the Navajo Nation due to a “trajectory of an underfunded health system,” and notes the Indian Health Service is funded at one-third the rate per capita as Medicare. “

The level of inequity that you’re seeing … it’s part of this pattern.”

Democracy Now! produces a daily, global, independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. 

Our reporting includes breaking daily news headlines and in-depth interviews with people on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues. 

On DN!, you’ll hear a diversity of voices speaking for themselves, providing a unique and sometimes provocative perspective on global events.

Missed an episode?  Check out DN on FSTV VOD anytime or visit the show page for the latest clips.

#FreeSpeechTV is one of the last standing national, independent news networks committed to advancing progressive social change. 

#FSTV is available on Dish, DirectTV, AppleTV, Roku, Sling and online at freespeech.org.

Amy Goodman Coronavirus COVID-19 Democracy Now! Dr. Michelle Tom Dr. Sriram Shamasunder Free Speech TV Navajo Nation

Health

The Rick Smith Show

The Rick Smith Show | Time to Tackle Healthcare

The Rick Smith Show | Time to Tackle Healthcare

The Rick Smith Show

The Rick Smith Show | Following a Tragedy, Rick Smith Talks About what he Learned

The Rick Smith Show | Following a Tragedy, Rick Smith Talks About what he Learned

Rising Up With Sonali

Rising Up With Sonali | Healing Through Community

Rising Up With Sonali | Healing Through Community

Democracy Now!

Family of Lashawn Thompson Demands Justice After He Was "Eaten Alive" by Insects in Atlanta Jail

Family of Lashawn Thompson Demands Justice After He Was "Eaten Alive" by Insects in Atlanta Jail

Related

Democracy Now!

Democracy Now! | Trump Pardons Jan. 6 Rioters: Jackson Reffitt Speaks Out

Democracy Now! | Trump Pardons Jan. 6 Rioters: Jackson Reffitt Speaks Out

The Thom Hartmann Program

The Thom Hartmann Program | Does the Left Needs its own Media Ecosystem?

The Thom Hartmann Program | Does the Left Needs its own Media Ecosystem?

The Thom Hartmann Program

The Thom Hartmann Program | American Society Used to Benefit from the Wealthy

The Thom Hartmann Program | American Society Used to Benefit from the Wealthy

The Rick Smith Show

The Rick Smith Show | The Fallout of the Washington Post's (lack of) Endorsement

The Rick Smith Show | The Fallout of the Washington Post's (lack of) Endorsement

Proud Partners