The Filipinx-American Community & COVID-19: A Manifestation of Colonial Legacies
- Bryanna Baysa Fong
- Sep 20, 2020
- 3 min read

Being both Chinese and Filipina, I have always been very aware of the differences between these ethnic identities. Although both ethnicities are routinely lumped under the “Asian American” umbrella, the histories and experiences of Chinese Americans and Filipinx-Americans vary in many ways. One of the biggest distinctions is the reality that the Philippines is the only Asian country that has been directly colonized by the United States, and as a result, the manifestation of these colonial legacies continues to impact the experiences of Filipinx-Americans today.
The way in which the current pandemic is affecting the Filipinx-American community is evident by the harmful, present-day effects of colonization in the Philippines. There are consistently high rates of Filipinx-Americans contracting and dying from COVID-19. The economic insecurity, preexisting health conditions, and occupations that Filipinx-Americans hold, such as nursing to manual labor, put them at greater risk for infection. Each of these factors are heavily influenced by the histories of colonization throughout the Philippine Islands.
During the United States’ colonial period (1898-1946), Filipinx immigrants were typically recruited for two types of occupations: (1) nurses or (2) manual laborers, such as cannery, farm, or plantation workers. Filipinxs were seen as a source of cheap and accessible labor since they could travel easily to the U.S. to work.
Consequently, the United States implemented a medical education system in the Philippines to address the shortage of nurses in the United States. This system allowed American hospitals to recruit nurses trained in the Philippines. Filipinxs who were sent to work in non-health care fields in the United States were subject to physically demanding labor with low pay and little to no benefits, and racial discrimination - discrimination rooted in American attitudes of colorism, racism and xenophobia (e.g. the Watsonville Riots).
Although it has been almost 75 years since the Philippines was granted their independence, the Filipinx-American community continues to be impacted by the effects of colonization.
Today, Filipinx-Americans are especially vulnerable to risk factors associated with COVID-19: socioeconomic stress, preexisting health conditions, and essential worker status, which is defined as “those who conduct a range of operations and services that are typically essential to continue critical infrastructure operations.” (e.g. health care, agriculture, grocery store clerks, etc.).
Low socioeconomic status is frequently associated with a number of health issues and higher mortality rates. Studies have demonstrated that socioeconomic and health disparities may be causing more severe cases of infection in the Filipinx-American community. Moreover, the effects of socioeconomic stress may increase Filipinx-Americans’ exposure to the virus (e.g. multigenerational households where it is more difficult to isolate from others, low-paying jobs that require employees to physically go to work, use public transportation, etc.). Data has also shown that Filipinx-Americans are less likely to hold a “professional job” compared to Whites, and instead are likely to work in essential roles like airport, post office, and grocery store workers.
In addition to these essential jobs, there is also a large number of Filipinx-American nurses; about 150,000 of the nurses in the United States are Filipinx-American and commonly work in the ICU, acute care, and surgical units where COVID patients are treated. This puts Filipinx-Americans at a greater risk of contracting COVID-19 as a result of the U.S. colonial education that continues to influence them to pursue a career in healthcare.
Researchers have recognized that the COVID-19 virus affects particular groups in different ways (e.g. Pacific Islanders experience the highest infection rate of any racial group in LA County, COVID-related hospitalizations among Black and Latinx Americans are about 4.7 times the rate among Whites). In terms of Asian Americans, however, the California Department of Public Health does not report by Asian subgroup. It is difficult to acknowledge the disparities experienced by Filipinx-Americans when data is obscured under such a broad label. According to Dr. Tung Nguyen, the endowed chair in general internal medicine and professor of medicine at UC San Francisco, disaggregating data on Asian Americans is one of the first steps to address health disparities.
But the benefits of data disaggregation extends past the medical lens. Political and community leaders must continue to invest efforts in understanding and clarifying the issues within the Filipinx-American community - across all fields and institutions. We can no longer ignore the disparities that have been historically rendered invisible in this country.
Comments