We all have been affected by the current COVID-19 pandemic. However, the impact of the pandemic and its consequences are felt differently depending on our status as individuals and as members of
society. While some try to adapt to working online, homeschooling their children and ordering food via Instacart, others have no choice but to be exposed to the
virus while keeping
society functioning. Our different social identities and the social groups we belong to determine our inclusion.
COVID-19 is killing people on a large scale. As of October 10,
2020, more than 7.7 million people across every state in the United States and its
four territories had tested positive for COVID-19. According to the New
York Times database, at least 213,876 people with the
virus have died in the United States.1 However, these alarming numbers give us only half of the picture; a closer look at data by different social identities (such as class,
gender, age, race, and medical
history) shows that minorities have been disproportionally affected by the pandemic. These minorities in the United States are not having their right to health fulfilled.
According to the
World Health Organization’s report Closing the Gap in a Generation: Health Equity through Action on the Social Determinants of Health, “poor and unequal living conditions are the consequences of deeper structural conditions that together fashion the way societies are organized—poor social policies and programs, unfair economic
