Marilyn Moore

Senator Marilyn Moore Releases Statement Regarding Inauguration of President Biden

Today, State Senator Marilyn Moore (D-Bridgeport) is working to raise awareness on the health disparities raised by the coronavirus pandemic in relation to Black and brown people. Senator Moore has written a letter to Commissioner Deidre Gifford in an effort to come up with a better solution to vaccinate people in Bridgeport. Bridgeport does not have a health director and therefore; nobody is assigned to ensure the Bridgeport Community is receiving sufficient knowledge about the COVID vaccine or sign up to receive the vaccine.

“There is definitely something wrong here,” said Sen. Moore. “Urban centers like Bridgeport have high percentages of Black and brown people who were left behind in the early days of testing. Now, when we should be considering the most vulnerable populations that suffer from health inequity, we are last. We should look at the vaccination process through a racial equity lens, not just age.”

According to the CDC, race and ethnicity are risk markers for other underlying conditions that affect health including socioeconomic status, access to health care, and exposure to the virus. Black or African American people are 1.4 times more vulnerable to getting COVID-19. The amount of hospitalizations is at a rate of 3.7 times more than those who are white, and the death rate of someone who is Black or African American is 2.8 times higher. Access to health care affects a person’s health risks. With a lack of care for underlying conditions, people are more susceptible to contracting COVID-19.

Senator Moore has committed to assessing legislation within the general assembly and any actions through a racial equity lens. She will be asking how major legislation plays into racial disparities and if there will be any racial implications set forth by new pieces of legislation. Sen. Moore has requested the CT Department of Public Health to assign a qualified, trained health professional to the City of Bridgeport immediately.

The letter written by Sen. Moore is attached.