As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact people around the world, there is a commonly expressed sentiment that “we are all in this together.” There is some truth to this especially from the standpoint that regardless of nationality, race, or gender all human beings are vulnerable to catching the virus. That is why we see pictures from around the globe and increasingly in our country of people wearing face masks in public. A couple of months ago, very few people in the US had ever worn a face mask outside of a hospital or some other medical setting. Almost none of us imagined owning a face mask or considered it an essential accessory when leaving home.
Yet despite the equality of human vulnerability to the virus, the events of the last few weeks have revealed the inequality of what happens to those who catch the virus. It hasn’t taken long for evidence to surface that low income people are less likely to be tested and more likely to die. Because of the historic and ongoing connection between income inequality and race in our country, African Americans and Latinx people are more likely to suffer and die at higher rates. This is not due to any biological factor, because we know that race is a social construct. Yet this social construct has very real consequences. The video posted below features the author a story in the recent edition of New York magazine called “Rich Corona, Poor Corona: Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Thrives.” She reveals the painful inequalities and disparities of access to treatment and resulting consequences in New York City. Unfortunately this applies to most metropolitan areas of our country. Take a few minutes to watch the video and reflect on this reality. This is the result of underlying inequities in our health care system that were there long before this pandemic but which the pandemic unmasks in a vivid and tragic way. For those of us who see all people as equal because we are all made in the image of God, this is a matter of justice. For me, one verse from Proverbs 22:2 sums up why this is so important, “Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all.” This is the foundation for advocating for quality health care as a human right and exposing the injustice of any system that claims equality as a principle but is unequally equal.