TESTIMONY
Elana Levin, Member of Jews For Racial & Economic Justice, on the Impact of Long COVID and Healthcare System Shortcomings
2:31:33
·
161 sec
Elana Levin shares her struggle with long COVID and points out flaws in NYC's healthcare system.
- Levin contracted long COVID in December 2022 despite taking all precautionary measures, highlighting the unpredictable nature of the illness.
- She criticizes the discontinuation of free COVID testing and changes to mask mandates in healthcare settings, emphasizing the heightened risk of virus spread.
- Levin discusses her difficulty in accessing safe medical care due to the lack of effective masks and accommodations for the immune-compromised.
- She draws parallels between the current handling of the COVID crisis and the early days of the AIDS crisis, suggesting a lack of adequate response.
- Levin advocates for practical measures such as improved mask distribution, air filtration enhancements, and stricter healthcare protocols to mitigate further COVID transmission.
Elana Levin
2:31:33
Okay.
2:31:33
You can hear me now.
2:31:35
My name is Yolanda Levin.
2:31:36
I'm a member of Juice RACIAL And Economic Justice.
2:31:38
I got COVID in December 2022 despite being in excellent shape, having all the boosters and packs loaded My COVID still became long COVID, and I can't return to the active life I had.
2:31:49
Long COVID can happen to anyone, and it's happening to at least 15% of New Yorkers still many of whom will become too sick to work, and each time you get COVID, the risk is over and over and compounding.
2:32:00
The only reason I was able to tell that I had COVID and ticked steps to prevent spreading it was because h and h used to have a free testing truck right outside my apartment.
2:32:11
My home test I was I was negative on all of my home rapid tests.
2:32:16
The only positive test I had was that pre PCR that I got at one of your trucks and now those trucks are gone.
2:32:23
Those testing sites were outdoors, which also meant that I could get tested without spreading COVID or catching COVID.
2:32:29
Now, New York has ended the mask requirement in healthcare settings.
2:32:32
That means in order to pursue medical care, we have to put ourselves at risk of getting COVID again.
2:32:37
Even when I wear my N95 mask, which I do all the time, studies show that I have a 2 hour time before I can inhale an infectious dose of COVID.
2:32:45
That's assuming I don't have to take my mask off to drink water or have some test where my mask can't be on.
2:32:50
I saw in your hospital report that there's been a steep increase in the number of people going to hospitals who are leaving without getting care.
2:32:58
I constantly hear from people that when they go to the hospital, the waiting rooms are full of people who are not wearing masks and are coughing and they leave because they are in danger.
2:33:07
The flimsy surgical masks that are handed out, which is the majority of what people are being given.
2:33:11
I know because doctors are telling me they don't they don't get N95s at work.
2:33:15
Those flimsy masks don't filter the air, they're not comfortable.
2:33:18
And when you give people tools that don't work well, they don't use them.
2:33:22
I don't see how it is ADA compliant that medical settings in New York are inaccessible to people like me.
2:33:28
Where am I supposed to get care without getting sicker?
2:33:31
Most immune compromised people don't even know their status.
2:33:35
I have nowhere I can get medical care safely in New York.
2:33:38
If you ever wondered what I'm excited.
2:33:40
Start the AIDS crisis, not the end, the start.
2:33:43
You are doing it now.
2:33:45
There are things we can do now even without federal support, things like respirator mask distribution, thank you, kit council member, and our seats, requirements in healthcare settings, and getting air force extrusion, even if it's just running a HEPA machine that I can freaking buy, I don't know why you guys can't, than opening windows.
2:34:04
These are all things to make me done now.
2:34:06
That people are no longer getting COVID and becoming more disabled, too disables to work in from attending medical settings and trying to get healthcare.