More than a year into the pandemic, COVID-19 is proving to be a complicated syndemic with political, economic, and social factors influencing who is most at risk of infection and death. With communities impacted by structural racism facing higher COVID-19 infection and mortality rates, state responses and recovery plans are focusing on equity.
The latest update to the National Academy for State Health Policy’s (NASHP) interactive map and chart, How States Collect Data, Report, and Act on COVID-19 Racial and Ethnic Disparities, highlights the cross-sector actions states are taking to reduce COVID-19 inequities. Many are:
- Developing strategies to create resilient public health systems capable of weathering future challenges; and
- Developing longitudinal, agency-level changes, such as instituting racial equity impact assessments to determine the impact of state policies on various racial and ethnic groups.
Discover how states are reporting race and ethnicity in their COVID-19 cases and how they’re addressing equity here. (author introduction)