Curbing COVID this winter
Obesity is a disease, COVID proves federal
policymakers should treat it like one
COURIER L 26 IFE, DECEMBER 3-9, 2021
EDITORIAL
OP-ED
Fears about the emergence
of the new Omicron variant
of COVID-19 prompted
city health offi cials to issue a
new advisory mandating that
all New Yorkers wear masks
within indoor settings.
Mayor Bill de Blasio pointed
out that the advisory was not a
mandate. Omicron, which is believed
to be more contagious but
possibly less potent than standard
COVID-19, is still new, and
further study is required before
scientists and epidemiologists
can determine whether it’s as big
of a public health risk as feared.
In the interim, the mayor
reasoned, New Yorkers should
wear masks indoors, regardless
of whether they’re vaccinated,
as an added precaution.
When asked why this wasn’t
made mandatory, de Blasio
explained that he didn’t want
mixed messaging about stopping
the spread of COVID-19,
encouraging all New Yorkers to
get vaccinated.
But from the start, vaccines
and mask-wearing have been
largely misunderstood, almost
as much as they’ve been scrutinized.
Vaccines will not guarantee
that you won’t become infected
with COVID-19 — but they will
ensure that if you do get the virus,
you will either be asymptomatic
or suffer a mild case.
Masks also do not guarantee
that you won’t become infected
with COVID-19 — but they do
help stop unknowingly infected
individuals from potentially
spreading the virus to others.
De Blasio is correct that more
New Yorkers need to be vaccinated,
or get booster shots if
they got their second dose more
than six months ago. The more
people are vaccinated, the less
chance the virus will spread.
But masks also play an important
role in the fi ght against
COVID-19 especially now, with
the colder weather setting in and
more events moving indoors.
Getting vaccinated and
wearing masks indoors are
key to curbing COVID-19 and
its variants in the months to
come. We should remember
that COVID-19 cases have been
growing in New York City in
recent weeks, long before the
Omicron variant emerged.
Taking these measures will
help slow the spread, save lives,
stop serious infections, keep
the hospitals manageable and
keep the city moving. It’s not an
opinion, it’s fact.
Getting vaccinated and
wearing masks have allowed us
to get to this point, and there’s
simply no logical reason (other
than legitimate medical issues)
as to why any New Yorker cannot
do both.
BY DR. RAMON TALLAJ
& DR. HENRY CHEN
Last spring, the COVID-19
pandemic pushed our country
to the brink. Hospitals struggled
as they ran out of ventilators,
beds, masks, and countless
other critical supplies. Doctors
and nurses worked tirelessly
for days on end, putting themselves
at risk to save others.
Hundreds of thousands of our
neighbors lost their lives.
Through it all, however, the
impacts of COVID-19 have been
exacerbated by an epidemic
that’s been making our country
sicker for generations: obesity.
The data is clear that Americans
living with obesity face
an even greater risk during
the COVID-19 pandemic—and
that they are more likely to be
people of color. More than three
quarters of Americans who
were hospitalized for COVID-19,
needed a ventilator, or died
from COVID-19 were more vulnerable
because of their obesity
or obesity-related diseases,
such as type 2 diabetes. Nationwide,
nearly 50 percent of Black
adults and 45 percent of Hispanic
adults suffer from obesity,
compared to 42 percent of
White adults.
Shockingly, if the prevalence
of obesity had been reduced
by just one quarter,
the COVID-19 mortality rate
would have fallen by 11.4 percent—
many of them people of
color. As we continue to battle
COVID, we must prepare for
the next health crisis, and our
leaders in Congress can help by
passing the Treat and Reduce
Obesity Act (HR1577), giving
healthcare providers tools to fi -
nally treat obesity.
As community doctors serving
low-income, immigrant
communities of color across
New York City, we have seen
the impact of obesity fi rsthand—
before and during the
COVID-19 pandemic—and we
can say without a doubt that it is
a disease that requires medical
treatment. Pre-COVID, obesity
was connected to an estimated
300,000 deaths per year, the second
leading cause of death in
the country, according to the
National Institutes of Health.
And there’s more. Higher rates
of obesity also means higher
rates of high blood pressure, osteoarthritis,
and even mental
illness – among a laundry list of
other chronic health conditions
– all of which contribute to skyrocketing
healthcare costs. You
don’t have to take my word for
it, though. In 1997, the World
Health Organization recognized
obesity as a disease, and,
in 2013, the American Medical
Association followed suit.
The United States government,
however, has not gotten
the memo.
While the FDA has approved
anti-obesity medications that
have strong track records of
helping patients battle obesity,
Medicare Part D continues to
stigmatize obesity—treating
the condition as a choice, not
a disease. Due to that stigma,
these FDA-approved anti-obesity
medications are among
the short list of drugs excluded
from Medicare Part D coverage,
lumped in with cosmetic
treatments for conditions like
hair loss and over-the-counter
medications such as cold and
fl u treatments. Worse still, the
program places onerous restrictions
on the behavioral therapy
used to treat obesity.
Treating obesity is, without
a doubt, an issue of health equity
for underserved communities,
and the need to address
it is only accelerating: between
1987 and 2002, the rate of obesity
among Medicare benefi -
ciaries doubled. By 2016, it had
nearly doubled again.
Here’s how our elected offi
cials in Washington, D.C.
can step up and fi ght obesity.
First, we must change the culture
and language that exists
around obesity and recognize
it as a medical condition—not a
choice, cosmetic problem, nor a
personal failure. Then we must
begin to actually treat this
chronic disease. The Treat and
Reduce Obesity Act will both
designate obesity as a known
medical condition and provide
patients with the medication
and therapies they need.
According to research published
by the Mayo Clinic in
July 2020, nearly half of US
adults are projected to be obese
by 2030. Investing in obesity
treatment today would pay
dividends tomorrow by lessening
the risk of chronic illnesses
and other dangerous diseases
for millions of people. This includes
Type 2 diabetes—90 percent
of people with this disease
are overweight or obese—and
cancer, 13 types of which have
a link to obesity. Overall, reducing
the risk of these conditions
would save taxpayers nearly $25
million over the next decade.
The pandemic has shown the
nation how important preventative
care is, especially for the
low-income, immigrant communities
of color that we treat
and that have been hardest hit
by COVID-19. SOMOS Community
Care’s proven communityfi
rst healthcare model shows
that when we invest in these
preventative measures, we can
change lives—but we need support
from our elected leaders.
It’s critical that Congress pass
the Treat and Reduce Obesity
Act and give us the tools we
need to care for our patients.
Dr. Ramon Tallaj is the Co-
Founder and Chair of SOMOS
Community Care and Dr. Henry
Chen is the President of SOMOS
Community Care.
Treating obesity is, without a doubt, an issue of health equity for
underserved communities, and the need to address it is only accelerating.