Accountability as a Public Health Response: COVID-19's Impact on Communities of Color

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on communities of color in the U.S., particularly on Black, Native American, and Latinx communities, NASTAD is releasing a statement and call to action, Accountability as a Public Health Response: COVID-19’s Impact on Communities of Color.

While data on the impact of COVID-19 on specific racial and ethnic groups remain scarce, available reports show that Black, Latinx, Native American, and Asian American communities are overrepresented in hospitalized patients and in reported deaths across most geographic regions in the United States. The existing data highlight how communities with limited access to healthcare and other resources continue to be impacted by poverty, classism, and racism.

NASTAD acknowledges the diligent work of all institutions involved in the public health response to the current COVID-19 outbreak and encourages strategies that address the barriers that allow COVID-19 and other inequitable health outcomes to persist. COVID-19 surveillance and clinical research must include racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic information to tailor prevention and treatment strategies. NASTAD recognizes the need to prioritize the voices of emerging leaders of color in public health and, as such, prioritized the expertise of our Minority Leadership Program network to develop these recommendations.