Race, Covid-19, and America’s Health Care System

When Covid-19 first started appearing in the United States, it was perceived as an illness that affected travelers, like Tom Hanks. Soon, though, it became clear the disease was infecting people of color more than any other group. Black people are 3.5 times more likely to die of the virus than white people, and Latino people are nearly twice as likely to die, according to researchers at Yale and the University of Pittsburgh. Why is this? Part of the problem is that racism is embedded in the country’s health care system. Reagan McDonald-Mosley, chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood of Maryland, and Thomas Fisher, emergency medical physician at the University of Chicago, speak with Maria Hinojosa, anchor and executive producer of NPR’s Latino USA, about American racism through the lens of Covid-19. The views and opinions of the speakers in the podcast do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute.