The Intersections of Pandemic, Public Policy and Social Inequality in the United States

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has placed the United States of America (U.S.) under enormous strain, leaving it with higher deaths during the first wave of the outbreak (per 100,000 of population) compared to all other advanced economies. In addition to the elderly, Minorities across all age groups in the U.S. are amongst those hardest hit by the virus. The disparate impact has been attributed to various enduring problems related to the social determinants of health adversely affecting Minorities. The present study explores the relationship between the pandemic, public policy, and race/ethnicity-based vulnerability, as the three have fused to disproportionately impact Minorities. We ask, does greater stringency of state measures aimed at controlling the spread of the virus lead to improved mortality rates for Blacks, Hispanics, and Whites equally? And, if not, to what extent does the role of pre-existing and COVID-specific vulnerability play in determining outcomes observed between groups? To answer these questions, we rely on a mix of correlational and regression analyses. Our findings point to the highly divergent impact of public policy and vulnerability on COVID-19 mortality. This suggests that state-led policy to address both the short-term and long-term consequences of the pandemic needs to account for the particular nature of vulnerability affecting Minorities in the U.S.