Coronavirus: Why Deaths Are So High Among Filipino Nurses in the U.S.

Nearly one-third of U.S. nurses who’ve died from Covid-19 are Filipino, even though they make up just 4% of the nation’s nursing population, according to a report by National Nurses United. We hear from Nerissa Roque, a registered nurse in California, about her experience. Ren Capucao, a registered nurse and nurse historian, further explains the high mortality rate.

The Philippines will cap the number of newly-hired nurses and other health professionals it annually sends abroad to 5,000 starting in 2021, President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesman said.

Duterte has approved the limit, taking into account the demand for nurses and doctors in the Philippines and abroad, his spokesman Harry Roque said in a briefing in November. The Philippines is battling the second-worst coronavirus outbreak in Southeast Asia.

The Philippines, which sends thousands of medical practitioners to work overseas, has lifted a ban on deployment of health workers imposed earlier this year.

About 13,000 nurses leave the Philippines for work abroad annually, CNN Philippines reported, citing the head of the Filipino Nurses United group.

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[sonicthehedegefizz]

More Filipino nurses work in most high risk areas. Such as ICUs where the sickest of covid pts go. They are more exposed to the pts with high viral loads of the virus.

[monae]

I am an RN and a FILIPINO here in California. My hospital is not spared from this pandemic. But to say that Filipinos are dying more because of this pandemic is misleading. My suspicion is Filipinos are overworked, exhausted and thus their ability to recover is hardly there. Listen to this nurse that you featured. She works at 7 and is supposed to be done by 9 pm ( i assume) but she is still on call as a hospice nurse. That tells me that’s her second job. She even said she even worked 24 hrs! That’s stupidity. Poor woman, she is beyond exhausted. The question though is, why is she on call? Is she forced to be on call? Why would she allow herself to work 24 hrs? Is she a vampire?! Filipino nurses are notorious for working over time. It pays more. Period. Regardless of the current situation, Filipino nurses just work work and work! To their own detriment. They lose understanding that the more they work, their bodies will eventually break down. Hospitals never force us to do OT. IT IS A CHOICE. They entice us with OT pay, extra shift bonuses, because they need to do what they are expected of them. They have patients coming in, someone has to be at the bedside. No one is forced to do anything they don’t want to. We have to advocate for our selves. I get text messages everyday that i am off asking me if I can work “ just a few hours to help out. We’ll pay 15$ more per hr. You’ll just do break relief. Etc, etc. “ I almost all the time politely decline. In my mind, I need my strength and health to be able to work my scheduled hours of 3 12 hr shifts already. They understand and that’s the end of that.

[rosaartemisg]

My favorite experience working as a nurse in the US was when I was assigned a travel job in California at a hospital where 95% of nurse were from the Philippines.
Incredible ppl and work ethic!

[gerard]

IM FILIPINO AND WORK IN HEALTHCARE..
SHUT UP WITH THIS RACE BAITING CRAP... NO ONE IS FORCED TO WORK IN A COVID AREA OR WORK OVERTIME... ITS YOUR CHOICE!!! CUT THE CRAP

[Once-]

Maybe it’s high because they work a lot. The first nurse works 7 days/week, 7 am- 9 pm. Plus she has another on-call job. That itself will increase chances of getting Covid-19. Some California RNs choose not to work in the field during this pandemic.

[thersten]

Nurse: I just need to help as many people as I can.

Americans: I'M NOT GONNA WEAR A MASK! THE GOVERNMENT IS TRYING TO CONTROL US!

[kateweber]

Unfortunately the title is incorrect or the commentary is just that, a commentary. It doesn't address any aspect of the title posted at all.

[shafthespaceegg]

Genetics too maybe? It’s known that different ethnicities can have different susceptibilities to certain viruses

[geinikankan]

Compare this person to our politicians.

[geinikankan]

Some posters seem to have hearing difficulty. If I understood correctly, the rise of nursing as a profession coincided with colonial relations between the US and the Philippines so that American trained Philippine nurses emigrated the US filling a need for both sides.

[aj-usqp]

Is it Americans never wanted these jobs or the USA federal, states & local governments prioritize hiring foreign nationals to keep jobs from USA citizens ?

[aj-usqp]

🚨It is very important that USA federal, states & local governments train & give USA jobs to foreign nationals to keep USA citizens under & unemployed ! Why? 🙅

[mlight]

So why do 33% of nursing deaths occur in Philippinos when they are only 4% of nurses? Surely it isn't about the time of day they work.

[elpidioespinoza]

That's like the main occupation of choice for Filipinos. They come here to be Doctors, nurses, caregivers, etc.

[tubernatour]

What a nonsensical non-answer answer is that? Is this video/ channel in any way associated with the real Bloomberg? Let’s not look into physiology/ immunology ; let’s jump right into pure speculations based in colonialism and exploitation. Average undergrad bio student could provide way better explanation than this misinformed individual 🤦‍♂️

[anthchac]

Madison Paglia: What was your sample size for the 1/3 of deaths statistic? Filipino nurses dying at 12x the average rate would warrant policy changes if true. You investigate hiring practices— working in less endowed / less competitive hospitals and working in more risky care- such as COVID, and you investigate cultural habits— working more often to the brink of exhaustion. But if your stat is correct, the 12:1 chasm is so large that it seems like there *must* be additional factors. Do they skew older? Are there nursing school (behavioral) differences.

[OWK]

Darker skin needs more vitamin D, too. Various reasons.

[patriciarussell]

May The Blessed Mother so her clock have you every second of the day!

[jeffwilliams]

Idiocracy approached, and when is was here, no one noticed....

[simpledad]

It's sad and what do they get? None.