The COVID-19 pandemic was an exponential shock to much of the U.S. population and also exposed deep vulnerabilities associated with our fragmented health care system and our extreme income inequality. African Americans, for example, who suffer from racial as well as income inequalities, also suffered disproportionately from COVID-19 incidence and mortality. Predominantly black counties have COVID-19 infection rates that are nearly three times higher than that of predominantly white counties. According to the CDC, while they make up just 12.5 percent of the U.S. population, they account for 23 percent of COVID-19 deaths and are 3.5 times more likely to die from the disease compared to white populations.