Recent demonstrations and violence sparked by the death of George Floyd are “like a river,” as Dr. Robert Pearl puts it, with many streams coming together to form a powerful current. Floyd’s preventable death at the hands of Minneapolis police is the most recent stream. Others go back much farther. They include systemic racism and generations of unfair treatment by law enforcement.

There is yet another source to this river, which is health-related. Though the coronavirus does not see color, it does reveal the disastrous health consequences of racial, social and economic inequality in the United States. Currently, the mortality rate for people of color is more than double that of America’s white population. Meanwhile, research has found that poverty and inequality can exacerbate rates of transmission and mortality.

In episode 12 of Coronavirus: The Truth, co-hosts Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr examine the difficult truths of racial and income inequality during the coronavirus pandemic:

[00:55] What coronavirus news popped up in the past week?

[07:24] Why does the coronavirus hit African-American and low-income households hardest?

[13:07] Will the protests and riots result in spikes of coronavirus cases?

[14:29] What’s the latest on the Moderna vaccine and Remdesivir treatment?

[17:18] How can church congregants reduce the risks of worshiping together?

[23:22] What might school (elementary, high school and universities) like in the fall?

[26:18] What do we know about the possibility of getting re-infected after recovering from the coronavirus?

[27:32] Will Americans tolerate daily testing/monitoring as a condition of coming back to work? And will employers be held accountable for public safety?

[28:55] Should the public be concerned about mutations of the coronavirus?

[31:50] How is the “middle game” of the U.S. coronavirus response going?

This episode is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify and other podcast platforms.

If you have coronavirus questions for the hosts, please visit the contact page or send us a message on Twitter or LinkedIn.

*To ensure the credibility of this program, Coronavirus: The Truth refuses to accept sponsorship, outside funding sources or guests with any financial or personal conflicts of interest.

The post #12: How does racial inequality fuel the coronavirus crisis? appeared first on Fixing Healthcare.