New resources for Latinos facing COVID-19 and diabetes

By Santa Ynez Valley Star Staff · Tue Mar 17 2020

Staff Report

Sansum Diabetes Research Institute (SDRI) announces the creation of three vital resources to assist the local Latino diabetes community during the Coronavirus pandemic. COVID-19/Coronavirus is a serious threat to everyone, especially Hispanic and Latino people with diabetes.

“In the current COVID-19 crisis we are seeing extraordinary numbers of people with diabetes around the world having poor outcomes from the infection. Because of this, we need to look closely at what we can do to prevent someone with diabetes becoming unwell with COVID-19,” said Dr. David Kerr, Director of Research and Innovation at SDRI.

The situation is especially dire right here in our community, explains Dr. Kerr: “In Santa Barbara County, in the Hispanic and Latino population, the rates of diabetes are almost double that of the background population in the United States.”

In response to the disproportionate impact and the information gap facing Latinos, SDRI, a global leader in diabetes research, education and clinical care, is stepping up by developing three new trustworthy resources to help in this special time of need.