COVID-19 is Affecting Males and Females Differently
written by:  Luana Yoshikawa-Scanlan, PRIME Consultants
Global Health 50/50 non-profit produces the COVID-19 Sex-Disaggregated Data Tracker, providing current evidence of the impact gender and sex have on national COVID-related policies and pandemic responses.  Data from 194 countries are monitored, representing 99% of all confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths reported worldwide.
 
According to the organization’s data, gender and sex are significant indicators of who is most likely to become infected with COVID-19, the likelihood of severe infection, and poor outcomes. While females comprise the most confirmed cases, males are more often hospitalized, admitted to ICU and do not survive the infection.

This is a critical issue for people experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) during a pandemic, especially families who rely on the ‘man of the house’ for financial stability.  Not only is IPV escalating as a result of COVID-19 related stay-at-home and community lockdown protocols, but families are also unable to make financial ends meet, fueling tension and greater potential for violence.  99% of IPV survivors experience economic abuse transforming violence into a structural economic issue:

• abusers control their victim’s access to bank accounts, paychecks, public assistance;
• abusers commit fraud in the name of their victims resulting in the victim’s inability to acquire credit and who are often strapped with fraudulent debt;
• abusers isolate their victims to hide the abuse, restrict their access to help, and keep them emotionally trapped in their situation – COVID-19 related lockdowns work in the abusers’ favor.    

 
Without a pandemic environment, women are already experiencing more abuse – one in four women worldwide according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline.  While COVID-19 may be affecting more males biologically, the emotional impact of the pandemic disproportionately affects women in most countries (data.unwomen.org).  Women lose their childcare and in-home assistance, are more likely to be laid off or directed to work from home, and become caretakers of infected spouses in addition to their children.
 
FreeFrom, a U.S. organization focused on strengthening IPV survivors’ financial security, suggests that as a ‘structural economic issue’ the following institutions can support survivors in the following ways:
 
Religious Organizations

• Ensure religious leaders and staff are educated and trained to ensure resources provided are non-judgmental, confidential, and victim focused;
• Provide counseling, shelter, emergency funds and resources with virtual access options.

 
Banks

• Waive fees to cash or deposit stimulus checks and other public assistance benefits for women;
• Waive opening balance requirements to allow survivors to open accounts and do direct deposits;
• Offer ‘survivor safety’ accounts which are monitored with enhanced fraud protections;
• Ensure bank staff are educated and trained to detect and respond to financial/economic abuse.

 
Employers

• Offer IPV-related leave (only 17 States offer this);
• Offer employees regular wellness check-ins including available counseling and peer groups;
• Start an emergency fund to cover victim expenses during emergencies;
• Intentionally employ survivors of violence.

 
The following online tool can help a victim assess her current financial wellbeing and offers links to resources that can help build her financial security: www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/financial-well-being/

Written by:  Luana Scanlan, PRIME Consultants, Owner
The phrase, ‘I work from home’ used to conjure pictures of a coupon clipping mom at her kitchen table, scissors in hand surrounded by newspapers and color-coded envelope files. Or Papa up at the crack of dawn weeding the taro patch.  In reality, prior to COVID-19, only 7% of Americans enjoyed the luxury of working from home (Pew Research Center). However, since the pandemic, nationwide surveys conducted by Stanford researcher, Nicholas Bloom, reveal that 42% of the U.S. labor force is now working from home full-time.  Thanks to worldwide efforts to stem the spread of COVID-19 and its mutations, physical lockdowns or stay-at-home orders are the norm.

In preparation for the inevitable first case of COVID-19 in American Samoa, the Alliance began modified remote-work protocols in mid-2020.  The Alliance’s work is inherently people focused: stakeholder meetings, community workshops, team planning conferences are all part of the Alliance team’s normal workday.  Engaging people is the most effective method for reaching the Alliance’s target audiences.
The new remote-work protocol allows team members to work from home at least four days per week with a weekly in-person check-in, practicing physical distancing, at the Alliance office.  In-person meetings are replaced with Zoom calls and increased email usage.  The office itself is physically modified to house ‘pods’ of individuals who work together most often. For example, the office manager and executive director work from partitioned workspaces separated from the rest of the office by a door.  The media manager and her assistant are partitioned in another section.  And finally, a safety glass partition and locked door were installed at the front entrance.  While these modifications enhance physical safety and encourage physical distancing practices, they also create a sense of ‘social’ distancing that may not encourage the type of interaction team members are used to or sustain a team mindset.  It can negatively affect morale and combined with other issues going on within the home, may create a negative work culture.

A quick scan of the internet resulted in the following Four Tips for creating a Positive Work Culture while working from home. Notably, the Alliance’s team implemented all these ideas in the office prior to COVID-19 – the key is to successfully implement them virtually.
Tip #1:  Encourage virtual social hours – lunchroom, ‘meet the pets’, game day, etc.
Alliance team members regularly ate lunch together in the office common area. Most days someone cooked lunch in the office kitchen, and sometimes they even shared breakfast.  On these occasions they shared stories, gave each other feedback, and yes, talked about work.
Tip #2:  Create a weekly ‘work-to-do’ communication mechanism – project updates, a ‘feel good’ forum where everyone can post positive things, resources, request help on projects, etc.
Tip #3:  Celebrate and acknowledge team members virtually.
Tip #4:  Recreate office traditions in virtual formats. Prior to COVID the Alliance held quarterly ‘Me Day’ sessions.  The activities were focused on improving wellness among team members and the work team as a unit.  It was a time for personal expression, decompression, and focusing on ‘Me’. Virtual painting sessions, cooking meals (i.e., guess what I’m cooking!), reciting favorite poetry.
Ultimately, these Tips encourage taking the positive aspects of the workplace into the virtual workspace.  It is important to note that the Alliance equipped each team member with the technology needed to work effectively at home, including internet access and workspace equipment. Now that’s using your COVID-19 funding appropriately!

​Recently the United States has begun to implement the Vaccine shots for COVID-19. American Samoa first responders have begun to receive their shots as of last week. We wanted to share the following FACTS:

Fact: Covid-19 give you COVID-19. According to the CDC none of the vaccines in development or in use in the United States contain the live virus that causes COVID-19.

Fact: COVID-19 vaccines will not cause you to test positive on COVID-19 viral tests. Neither the recommended vaccines currently authorized in the United States cause you to test positive on viral tests.

Fact: people who have gotten sick with COVID-19 may still benefit from getting vaccinated. Re-infection with COVID-19 is possible, and there are severe health risks from COVID-19, for that reason people who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 are encouraged to get vaccinated.

Fact:  Receiving an mRNA vaccine will not alter your DNA
The mRNA from a Covid-19 vaccine does not become part of the nucleus of the cell, where our DNA is stored.  Your DNA will not engage or interact with the mRNA because it is separate.  The COVID-19 vaccine uses mRNA along with your natural immunity to  protect you from the disease.