1/ Excited *& frustrated* to share this new work

*This is the epidemic* — inequity is the driver of #covid19. It has been since the start

It’s not surprising- it’s how every infectious disease outbreak spreads

And it isn’t central enough to our response
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/11/13/933835868/opinion-to-solve-the-pandemic-biden-must-focus-on-equity

2/ cc @RanuDhillon @drdavidwalton @IngridKatzMD ; as global health doctors, inequity is the focus of how we fight poor health outcomes. It isn’t some sub-plot; this is the whole damn story. And we have seen this play out in #covid19 from the start.

3/ From when we said “stay home”— there were so many people that could never afford to stay home; that were expected to show up and keep working without PPE, paid time off, hazard pay, or any other protections. I know- many of these people ended up being my #covid19 patients

4/ When Governors & state elected officials reopened early when they decided our “economy” was more important than the health and safety of our most vulnerable frontline workers. They propagated inequity. People got sick & died from these decisions.

5/ The article starts with the story of a patient that @RanuDhillon took care of (details changed slightly to protect privacy)— these are real stories; these are real people.

These aren’t just statistics.

6/ The epidemic has disproportionately hit Black and Latinx communities in every single way- in infections, hospitalizations, deaths, life years lost, mental health burden— you name it, you will see it. And it’s absolutely horrifying. This can’t be allowed any longer.

7/ Worst of all— these inequitable outcomes have at times even been used to *blame* poor communities & implicate them & “their choices” more than the structural violence they are being killed by. This Ohio lawmaker *actually asked this* https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/11/us/politics/steve-huffman-african-americans-coronavirus.html

8/ The approach needs to change drastically & I know that our current #covid19 leadership team will take equity seriously cc @vivek_murthy @celinegounder @mtosterholm @globalgamechngr @DrEricGoosby @Atul_Gawande @ZekeEmanuel @RebeccaKatz5 @llborio @DrJulieMorita @DavidAKesslerMD