Over the bracing strains of "Start It Up", Rep. Ocasio-Cortez told Ady Barkan she was "hanging in there" as she represents a hard-hit district Tuesday, in the hearing of over 2,000 healthcare advocates. "It's not only corona," The representative continued. "The virus just seeps into the cracks we've already left there and makes things worse." She went on to detail environmental racism that makes her part of Queens polluted and leads to the country's highest asthma rates, underpayment of low-wage workers and the like.
Still, and despite her colleagues' resistance to change, she sees reasons for optimism. "Though the stimulus is inadequate, I've seen some Overton-window blasting things...my colleagues are considering things they might have laughed at before."
Ocasio-Cortez was joined on the call by Assemblywoman Karines Reyes, a Democrat from New York's 87th District. Reyes has returned to nursing, in a move reminiscent of earlier disaster-relief volunteering she's done in Puerto Rico and Haiti. "This has been equal to things I've seen in third-world countries." She also added that the health effects of corona may be far-reaching, as staff shortages complicate care decisions, leading to secondary conditions such as amputations. Reyes voted against New York's recent budget over Medicaid cuts.
Be A Hero has teamed up to buy 7,000 masks for nurses.
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