The Twin Pandemics of Racism and COVID-19 Continue

We’re dealing with twin pandemics in America right now. Just when we start to see the light at the end of the very dark tunnel of the COVID-19 pandemic (at least here in the U.S.), the always lurking, more insidious pandemic of racism grabs the national spotlight once again. While racism is always there, it has become especially obvious again this week as cops continue to kill innocent Black people on a nearly daily basis. Both of these pandemics have been allowed to rage on because people are not taking action and instead are choosing to hide in denial and hope it goes away.
Multiple Black people that we know of, including children, have been shot and murdered by police in the past week. Only minutes before Derek Chauvin’s conviction in the murder of George Floyd, a Columbus, Ohio police officer shot and killed 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant. In Spotsylvania County last Wednesday, an officer shot Isaiah Brown, an unarmed man, 10 times in the face, neck, chest, and pelvic area. In both instances, police had the option of de-escalating the situation or using a Taser instead of pulling the trigger on the Black community members they are supposed to protect. Some say it was the only option, but if that’s the case, why are cops able to easily apprehend white mass shooting perpetrators alive and unharmed and sometimes even taking them to Burger King? It is clear that there are, in fact, other options.
Just as racist policing targets Black communities, the COVID-19 pandemic also disproportionately impacts marginalized communities. Former President Donald Trump let 570,000 Americans die through lack of coordination, inept direction from the federal government, and mocking safety protocols. It was clear from the start that our only option for containing the COVID-19 pandemic was through a vaccine, and yet the Trump administration didn’t even have a plan for vaccine distribution despite having a year to plan for it. If we’d had a competent leader who took the wellbeing of the country seriously, we could have prevented the loss of so many lives. And now, despite his gross mismanagement of the pandemic, Trump and his flunkies continue to try to take credit for the recent surges in COVID-19 vaccinations, which just adds insult to injury. 
To be clear, the over five million shots in arms in Virginia are thanks to strong Democratic leadership and the aggressive state vaccine program that now boasts over two million fully vaccinated people in Virginia. The emergency legislation passed during the last General Assembly session expanded the pool of vaccinators, greatly increasing our capacity to vaccinate. All adults age 16 years and up are now eligible, and everyone needs to sign up as soon as possible to do their part for the community.
While it may seem like nothing can be done to stop COVID-19 or racism, there are clear actions we can all take to mitigate the impacts of both. We can all sign up to get our vaccines. We can continue to push for comprehensive criminal justice reform, starting with a ban on qualified immunity and the adoption of other policies that will reduce interactions with police and shift them to people who are better trained to deal with crisis situations like social workers and mental health counselors. 
But there has to be the will to do it.  When people stand by and don’t demand better from the police and from our elected leaders, we all suffer. Our legislators must do better for communities that suffer from racist police violence that is far too often without consequence. We must also demand accountability by ending qualified immunity that so many cops hide behind. 
We know better. Now we must do better.