GIZMODO: 'I’m Just Praying': Miners Fear the Impacts Covid-19 Could Have in Coal Country

Jimmy Moore, President of the Black Lung Association of Southeastern Kentucky, was interviewed this week about the importance of miners with black lung protecting themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic:

“Moore mined the coalfields of Appalachia for 22 years. He suffers from diabetes and black lung, which covers a range of lung diseases that makes breathing difficult and damages the lungs. His 51-year-old son who followed him into the mines is also dealing with black lung, which is a common malady for patients exposed to coal and silica dust. That’s why black lung is formally known as coal workers’ pneumoconiosis. Physicians and researchers are warning that these former coal miners are at particular risk during this pandemic. As president of the Southeastern Kentucky Black Lung Association, Moore is also telling members to stay home and stay safe.”

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