Wednesday, May 13, 2020, 4 – 5 PM EDT

"The Corona Inequity: Why COVID-19 Disproportionately Affects African Americans"

Nationwide, alarming statistics reveal that African Americans are at greater risk than others for both infection with the coronavirus and death from COVID-19.  While some express surprise at this phenomenon, public health scientists point to specific, embedded, and continuing racialized inequality as the unsurprising root cause.   Structural racism exacerbates transmission through poverty, residential crowding, and higher numbers among "essential" workers.  Structural and interpersonal racism increases individual susceptibility and reduces access to quality health care.   Flattening the racial curve can be achieved through immediate and long-term local, regional, and national action.  For example, "inequity curve flattening" actions that began in Minneapolis in 2018 may help account for the observed lower COVID-19 impact among African Americans in Minnesota compared with Bordering states.  The COVID-19 pandemic may trigger other structural actions that will result in positive, long-lasting health outcomes.