COVID-19 and Equity*

The COVID-19 pandemic is spotlighting the health inequities that already existed in the United States.

We are not going to reach health equity during a pandemic. But we must do all we can to keep disparities from widening and to address the root causes of existing health inequities.

APHA webinars:

From CDC:

Barbershop Medicine — Physicians Italo Brown and Cedric "Jamie" Rutland on:

African Americans and COVID-19

APHA Executive Director Georges Benjamin, Past President Camara Jones and many APHA members are speaking out about the higher COVID-19 death toll among African Americans and the historical racism contributing to this troubling statistic. A few examples:

American Indians/Alaska Natives

  • Coronavirus in Indian Country: Latest Case Counts (a joint effort by by Indian Country Today, the American Indian Studies Center at UCLA, and the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at UCLA)
  • Indian Country, where residents suffer disproportionately from disease, is bracing for coronavirus (The Washington Post) — “ When you look at the health disparities in Indian Country — high rates of diabetes, cancer, heart disease, asthma and then you combine that with the overcrowded housing situation where you have a lot of people in homes with an elder population who may be exposed or carriers — this could be like a wildfire on a reservation and get out of control in a heartbeat,” said Kevin Allis, chief executive of the National Congress of American Indians.
  • As Coronavirus Cases Rise, Navajo Nation Tries to Get Ahead of Pandemic (NPR) — A good part of Percy Deal's day is spent hauling water for his family and livestock in two 55-gallon barrels. So when he heard on the radio how often and for how long he was supposed to wash his hands to avoid the spread of the coronavirus, he was overwhelmed.

Hispanics/Latinos

People who are Homeless

From APHA's Public Health Newswire and The Nation's Health

More on Health Justice/Health Equity

*APHA recognizes this is not an exhaustive list. We're regularly updating the page.