Parents, son felled by virus near Shiprock (NM - Baptist minister to the Navajo's)

The Albuquerque Journal ^ | April 29, 2020 | Elise Kaplan

[CedarDave]

Jimmy Walters was an old-school “hellfire and brimstone” pastor at a Baptist church on the Navajo Nation.

His wife, Rachel Walters, was equally devout and spent her time caring for their children and home, and weaving Navajo rugs to sell.

Their son, 48-year-old Davis Begaye, lived with them in a four-bedroom house overlooking the mesas, plains and Ute Mountain in the small community of Cudei, outside Shiprock. He worked at the Home Depot in Farmington for several years.

That’s where the family suspects Begaye got infected with COVID-19 – the illness caused by the coronavirus – in early April.

Over the next three weeks, Begaye, and then his parents, died of the disease, one after the other.

Shortly after Begaye died, his mother, 68-year-old Rachel, started feeling sick and was admitted to the Indian Health Service Northern Navajo Medical Center in Shiprock. A couple of days later, her husband, Jimmy, 71, joined her there.

The couple died four days apart, first Rachel and then Jimmy.

Jimmy and Rachel Walters and their son Davis Begaye are three of the 38 people who have died of COVID-19 in San Juan County since New Mexico saw its first death caused by the disease a little over five weeks ago.

San Juan and McKinley counties, which include parts of the Navajo Nation, have been hit hard by the virus, with infection and death rates far higher than in any other area of the state.

McKinley County has reported 953 cases of COVID-19 – almost 200 more than Bernalillo County, whose population is nine times its size – for a rate of 1,294 reported cases per 100,000 people.

San Juan County, where the Walters family is from, has a population of 128,000 and 576 reported cases, for a rate of 449 per 100,000 people.

[CedarDave]

Three siblings remain quarantined after testing positive for the virus. Also, two employees of Home Depot in Farmington have died from the disease.

From the NM Dept. of Public Health: "Native Americans make up 52.8% of the state’s total confirmed coronavirus cases, according to Department of Health data. They make up about 11% of the state’s population."

[CedarDave]

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[ProtectOurFreedom]

What a sad story.

What accounts for the huge disparity in Native Americans contracting the disease?

[DLfromthedesert]

This is horrific. So sad for that family.

[Nateman]

I suspect the virus is somewhat related to other viruses Asia has suffered before. As a result the Old World has a bit of immunity. The New World people don’t have that protection. Old World diseases killed off 90 to 95 % of New World people.

[DiogenesLamp]

From the NM Dept. of Public Health: "Native Americans make up 52.8% of the state’s total confirmed coronavirus cases, according to Department of Health data. They make up about 11% of the state’s population."

I think there is a genetic disparity in this disease. I've read other articles indicating that it affects different races to different degrees. White women are the least likely to be infected or have severe symptoms.

[txrefugee]

Do Native Americans have obesity and diabetes in rates as high as Hispanics?

[ProtectOurFreedom]

True, except this is a “novel” corona virus and nobody in the entire world has any acquired immunity to it.

[the OlLine Rebel]

I suspect it’s their cultural habits and lousy medical.

I’ve seen this on medical/forensics shows. It’s kind of like the ghetto combined with some socialist medical.

[Eastern Shore Virginian]

I have read before that descendants of people who survived the Black Plague have immunity or partial immunity to the disease.
This would explain the devastation of Native Americans. Like diseases of the past, they have no natural immunity.

[Babba Gi]

This is the diabetes capital o for the world. What Custer and the Seventh Calvary couldn’t accomplish the government has with high fructose corn syrup and alcohol. It is sad.

[Lizavetta]

The parents, at least, fit the demographic of at risk.

Elderly and obese, and because of that probably type 2 diabetes and possibly hypertension and heart disease.

All in all, though, what a tragic story.

[heartwood]

A high incidence of diabetes. No running water in many homes, brought in by pickup truck. Multigeneration households with homes not set up to quarantine?

[BillyBonebrake]

COVID aside, that’s a tough area. San Juan County has a very high incidence of drunk driving arrests and fatalities. I recall planning a drive from Farmington, through Shiprock, up to Cortez, CO. Someone said “just make sure you’re off the road before dark”.

[Delta 21]

New Mexico just shut down Gallup, NM with the National Guard.

[DiogenesLamp]

New Mexico just shut down Gallup, NM with the National Guard.

I hope that is an overreaction. I would very much rather have it being panicky governors than a deadly threat to the people who live there.

[Delta 21]

The megalomania of what many thought were simply democrat governors has been astounding.

The democrats/press = same friggen thing will lead with the doom and gloom of the worst hit which will of course be the already sick or compromised, weak, old, diabetic, black obese in NYC, American Indians in New Mexico.....

It took the WHO/UN, Chicoms, a previous president and most of his administration, every liberal in the country and billions in socialist/communist aid but we finally got the world to hate Orange man.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Everyone has expended their full complement of destructive assets against him and Biden is all they can muster to throw at him in the election? HA HA!!??

Its gonna be a great 2nd term for Donald J. Trump.

[DiogenesLamp]

Its gonna be a great 2nd term for Donald J. Trump.

Yup. To quote a famous moron idiot, He'll "have more flexibility after the election." :)

Look out deep state bitches! The gloves are off in the second round!

[CedarDave]

I hope that is an overreaction. I would very much rather have it being panicky governors than a deadly threat to the people who live there.

As far as the Covid-19 virus goes, Gallup is to New Mexico as NYC is to the state of New York. With the high Native-American population there, the limited health care facilities are being over whelmed and patients are being transferred to ABQ hospitals.

[DiogenesLamp]

I would hate to see the Indian populations decimated. I would hate to see any population decimated, but the Indians have already gone through enough of that and they need to build back their people if they can.

And yes, Socialized medicine greatly sucks, and that's what passes for "medicine" for a lot of Indians.